


The Lost Robins of Neverland

by StoryBookMuse



Category: Batman - Fandom, Batman and Robin, DCU, Nightwing - Fandom, Red Hood and the Outlaws (Comics), Red Robin - Fandom, Teen Titans
Genre: F/F, F/M, M/M, Neverland!AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-05-15
Updated: 2017-10-23
Packaged: 2018-01-24 21:06:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Underage
Chapters: 8
Words: 31,727
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1617071
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StoryBookMuse/pseuds/StoryBookMuse
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>All little children grow up. All except one. Or rather five, in this case; the case of the Lost Robins.... Neverland was their home. They had all found it and made it theirs, each and every one falling in love with it every day, over and over again.</p><p>Together they thrived in this place, where the adventures, and the fun, and of course the danger never ended. This is a collection of many of their tales and adventures: Learning to fly, swimming with mermaids, playing with the Archers, battling pirates, falling in love... Living, and Dying as well. Above all, though, it's the story of the beloved lost children, the Robins of Neverland.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This is a pet project of mine that I work on the sidelines between main fics that was inspired by my favorite movie, Hook. If you haven't seen it, then please take a look because it's absolute gold and help me not only enjoy my childhood and cultivate my imagination, but also helped me come to terms with growing up. How could I resist setting the Robins loose in the land of eternal youth for shenanigans? There will be a lot of themes in this fic, and I hope it'll be a wholesome read as much as Neverland and Peter Pan are a timeless classic.
> 
> Lots of fluffiness and adventures at first, but then slowly builds the angst between our babies as the relationships between them grow more complex. Enjoy, my darlings!

All little children grow up. All except one. Or rather _five_ , in the case; the case of the Lost Robins. The lost boys (and one lost girl) were the buoyant little Robins of Never-Neverland, where mermaids dwelt in the cool waters; Archers roamed the wild land; fairies danced every night like fireflies in the forest;and dreaded, swashbuckling  _pirates_  sailed and terrorized  _all_ on board the Jolly Roger's deck. All except the five little lost Robins, anyway. They found thrill in fighting the pirates, and hunting with the natives, and floating in the water under the moon with the mermaids. Even the fairies liked them. Neverland was their home. They had found it and made it theirs, each and every one falling in love with it every day, over and over again.

 

The first one to find Neverland was also the oldest and the leader. He, of course, was none other than the golden child called Dick Grayson. Dick was a boy of 9 when he discovered the land; a lanky thing with night-shade hair that was messy and pointed all different directions, eyes so blue the ocean frothed with jealously, and a face far too lovely for his own mischievous good. He can’t remember much of his life before, only that he came from the circus. He  _knew_ , because that's where he learned to twirl and leap high in the air, first on the trapeze and then through the trees and masts of the pirate shipwith effortless ease. Other than that, his previous life was hardly more than a hazy mystery. Not that he cared to remember. _Neverland_ was his home now. Neverland _raised_ him. Neverland was his mother and father and best friend. Neverland was  _home._  He would stay here forever. Or so he thought... but he grew and grew and grew and _kept_ growing over seven long years. When he looked in his reflection on the water one day, he realized that it had changed, and that childhood was slowly, but undeniably leaving him. Despaired, he cried and stomped and lashed at the reflection angrily and made a vow; he did not want to grow up. He _wouldn’t_. He would keep his childhood and live in Neverland forever and ever. The island overheard his desperate wish... and with all the magic it could muster, Neverland granted. So, during his sixteenth year, he simply... stopped growing, and never aged another day. 

 

Jason was the next to arrive on Neverland's shore. He had stumbled into the greenery when he was a scrawny, patchwork clothed 11 year old.  He had green eyes that could rival the emerald jewels of the pirates and sprouted dark auburn hair -with a peculiar (though not unflattering) white stripe in the front. Jason really couldn’t recall his old life either, and if anyone ever bothered to ask, all he would say is he remembered running; running fast, running far, and running hard. Jason wondered why, once, but when he really thought about it, he decided he didn’t care. He _loved_ running. He loved jumping and climbing and crowing and fighting. He loved Neverland, truly. And for all he cared, this was his  _only_  life, and all there ever was. There was never any doubt in his mind that he would stay just like Dick, forever and ever. So he let himself age for four short years (not daring to let himself grow as old as Dick had before he made  _his_  vow) and was now a powerful young boy of fifteen years old. Forever. And he liked it that way.

 

Tim came next, a very small (literally,  _tiny_ ) boy of 9, just like Dick had been. His hair was long, brown and earthy like the trees, and his eyes were blue, just like Dick's. Unlike the eldest, however, his blue was of the sky when the sun was shining bright; they even turned gray on an overcast day to match the clouds. Tim had no memories at _all_ of any life before from the moment he entered Neverland, save his name and birthday. But living with Dick and Jay after they took him in made him happy, and he too found a home with the lost boys...the  _Robins_ , as Dick was fond of calling them. Timmy aged for four summers, same as Jason, before he too decided to stop aging to stay a still relatively small, but spritely 13 year old. (Jason told him there’s no way he’s older than twelve, but Tim knows. Tim  _counted_.)

 

The next was unlike any of the rest of them before. This time, it was a  _girl._  She was exactly 12 years old, sunshine blonde hair and sapphire eyes. She was hot headed and ready to tackle and fight any and all of the boys when they found her holed away in their favorite tree. Her name was Stephanie. The boys wouldn’t let her join them at first; She couldn’t be a lost  _boy_ , they had said, much to her fury. It wasn’t until she saved their sorry butts from the plank and completely dominated a sword fighting match with the Captain that she earned her spot and extreme high respect with the Robins. She aged for only two years during that time, and the moment she finally  joined them, the  _moment_  they told her it was possible, she stopped aging too, and stayed a bright and thrilling 14 year old.

 

The last and youngest of them was called Damian; an ebony haired, onyx eyed and olive skinned little boy. Tim didn’t like him much, to be honest. The child always sneered and snapped his jaws like a piranha at anything Tim or the other boys ever said. Damian was a fierce kid, didn’t like Tim or Tim's annoying sensitivity either; He had made that clear on the first day when he threw a rock Tim's direction. But Dick took pity on him since he was only five at the time, and took him under his wing. Since Damian was so young, the time he spent in Neverland made him forget his past completely. Like Jason, this was all there was for Damian. Only...Jason had willingly left his memories behind. Damian couldn’t remember another life if he tried. The Robins, obviously, had told Damian about never growing up, but since he was so young...Damian didn’t exactly want to be the littlest forever. And he didn’t want to need help every time they climbed a tree or battled a pirate. So five summers later, at 10 years old, Damian still grew yet.

 

Together they  _thrived_  in this place, where the adventures, and the fun, and of course the _danger_ never ended.  _This_  is a collection of many of their tales and adventures: Learning to fly, swimming with mermaids, playing with the Archers, battling pirates, falling in love... Living, and Dying as well. Above all, though, it's the story of the beloved lost children, the  _Robins_  of Neverland.


	2. Learning To Fly

"I'm  _bored_ ," Stephanie whined in her hammock overlooking the boys. Dick had been talking animatedly to Damian about the time he had battled and killed the pirate called Danny Zuko and Damian was listening with bright, wide eyes while Jason smirked and rolled his eyes as he sharpened his dagger. Tim was building a tiny fort out of sticks and pebbles and Stephanie...well, she had grown tired of Dick's story (which he had a habit of telling again and again and again) Personally, her story about slashing Wilson's eye out was f _ar_ more interesting. Or even about Damian's lucky strike at the Captain's hand, which removed it completely. Jason had snatched it and, in a spark of brilliance, though Steph would never tell him that for fear of swelling his head, had thrown it to the crocodile in the sea below. Now the old Ghul-ie would forever be afraid of the reptile who ceaselessly followed him to devour the rest of his body.

But the pirates had retreated after they stole their treasure again this week, so provoking them was pointless while they were hiding and licking their wounds like animals. They had already played War with the Indians twice this week, and though she never got tired of hunting or being hunted in turn, she longed to find something new to do.

"Bored?" Dick gaped up at her, shocked. "How can you be  _bored_? Neverland is too wonderful too be boring," he defended proudly.

"I'm not bored of Neverland, boy, I'm bored of  _you_  and your overly told and  _exaggerated_  tales," she muttered back, rolling her eyes.

"They're not exaggerated-" he began, but was cut off with a laugh from Jason.

"Don't even lie, we all know that the tale about the mermaid kissing you was just her trying to drown you when you weren't being careful," he snorted. Dick's cheeks turned pink and he scowled, and Tim couldn't hide an amused grin.

"Come on, I want to  _explore_! I haven't been here as long as you guys, I want to see  _everything_!" Stephanie insisted as she leapt out of the hammock eagerly. "Show me something exciting, Dick. Something new. Please, please,  _please_?"

Jason halted his work and peaked up in interest. Tim crawled forward and craned his head to look up at Dick with a hopeful expression. Dick frowned thoughtfully and scratched his jaw as he tried to think of something he hadn't shown to them before... he could never pass up the chance to show off and impress his friends if he could help it. He wasn't about to start now, either; they wanted something new and exciting, Dick Grayson would deliver.

"Let's see, pirates and Indians are old, I've shown you the mermaids already, obviously, we've played in Blind Man's Bluff, I- oh!" his eyes lit up as brilliance struck him. "Have I ever taken you to see...the fairies?" he arched a brow deviously. Stephanie gasped and Tim scooted closer with an impressed "Oooh."

Jason scoffed and waved a hand in dismissal. "Pass. I've never seen them. They don't like big people, you know that."

"I  _have_ seen them though," Dick insisted, in which Jason's eyes popped and Damian retorted "No  _way_ /."

"Yes way, it's  _true_ ," he nodded breathlessly. "It was before i found this tree, before Jason even got here, back when I was tiny like Tim-" Tim interrupted with an indignant retort that he  _wasn't_  tiny, which Dick ignored. "I was exploring the woods one night, looking for a place to sleep because I had just made my grand escape from the pirates again. You had no idea how much fun I had that day, that was back when Ghul-ie's daughter and the Bat were still-"

"Dick!" Stephanie interrupted crossly. "Don't get sidetracked, you've told us about the pirates already, I want to hear about the fairies!" Damian snickered and muttered "What a  _girl_ ," under his breath and earned a rough punch from the blonde.

"Alright, alright, sorry," Dick grinned, abashed. "Anyways, I was looking for a place to sleep for the night when I saw a little golden light," he recalled. "It was fast and just  _flying_  through the branches. I decided to follow it and even though it  _almost_  outran me, I was too quick," he stated proudly. "And it lead me to a meadow surrounded by big willow trees where there were even  _more_  little lights. They were gold and red and green and blue and all  _kinds_  of different colors just floating and dancing in the air around me, it was incredible!" he smiled in remembrance. "They didn't let me get much of a close look, if I got within two feet of any single one, they would dart off nd I would have to chase them again. But I did take a good, long look at them from the trees and the more I looked, the more I could see that the lights were actually tiny little pixies with glittering wings and pointed ears, wearing leaves and flowers as their clothes-"

"Oh, how pretty that must be," Stephanie grinned, resting her chin in her hand dreamily.

"It  _was_ ," Dick nodded. "One of the most beautiful things I'd ever seen. They danced all night under the moon and stars and when they finally got close enough to dance all around me, I can  _swear_  to you that they lifted me off the ground. They let me  _fly_  for just a few moments," he sighed in awe at the memory. "But not for long. I fell asleep watching them right there in the meadow. But when I woke up...they were gone," he frowned sadly. "I came back the next night, and the next, and the next. But...they never came back there. I haven't been able to find them since. I almost forgot about them, to be honest," he shrugged. "So thank you, Stephanie, for reminding me! If you guys want something new and exciting, we can go and find the fairies again," he suggested eagerly.

"Are you sure it wasn't just a  _dream_ , Dick?" Jason arched a brow skeptically as he leaned against his special corner of the wall.

"It wasn't!" Dick implored sternly. "And I can prove it. We're going to find them tonight, and I'll  _show_  you."

"Yeah right, you only saw them  _once_ , Dick. It was a  _dream_. Fairies probably don't even exist, and there's no  _way_ anyone can  _fly_. We're never going to find them."

Dick's eyes glinted mischeviously and he smirked. "You wanna bet?" he grinned deviously.

"Is that a challenge?" Jason retorted, arching a brow in interest. Tim and Stephanie exhanged a knowing, humorous look and Damian snickered.

"I  _know_  what I saw. And I know I can prove you wrong," Dick hummed in a sing-song voice.

Jason grinned, never one to back down. "I seriously doubt that, dickface. I think you just dreamed it up and made it into one of your stupid stories so you can show off again."

"I don't need to make up a story to show off how great I am, you see me in action every  _day_ ," Dick retorted with a smirk. "I know the fairies are out there and we  _will_  find them before the night is over.  _And_...I'll get them to make me fly again. To make us  _all_  fly."

"Oh yeah? And what if we don't find them?" Jason challenged, crossing his arms. "What if they're not real and you let us down? What if we never get to fly? You'll have gotten their hopes up for nothing," he gestured toward Tim, Stephanie and Damian, who were listening intently.

Dick bit the inside of his cheek and hummed in thought. "Then I'll stop telling my stories. Forever." he vowed. "I'll stop showing off, I'll stop exaggerating, I'll stop making things up."

"Do you hear that, guys? Dick is actually going to to deflate his head and become bearable after tonight," Jason jeered teasingly.

"That's  _if_  we don't find them," Dick snapped, crossing his arms. "If we  _do_  find them, though," his eyes glittered sneakily, "then  _you_  have admit that I was right and that I am  _always_  right from now on. You have to stop calling me dickface.  _And_ ," he added, with one final glittering leer, "you have to swim naked in Mermaid Lagoon."

"What?!" Jason protested while Stephanie and Damian cackled beside them. "You want me to dive into Mermaid Lagoon  _naked_? Those mermaids will kill me!" he complained.

"Nah. You always tell us you could out swim those fish ladies anyway, right?" Dick grinned broadly.

"I wonder what they would think if we told them you said that," Stephanie whispered deviously, which cause Jason to glare at her dangerously.

"Come on, what are you afraid of Jason?" Damian taunted. "You're so sure we won't find the fairies, what's the harm in taking the bet?"

"The fact that Jason has more consequences that Dick would if he lost the bet," Tim pointed out. "At the very least, Dick should have to jump into Mermaid Lagoon too, if he lost. That way there's equal stakes."

Dick groaned and pouted at Tim. "I thought you were on  _my_  side," he sniffed, wounded. Tim shrugged and offered a shy smile. Dick stuck out his tongue and Jason winked at Tim, flashing a grateful thumbs up before turning back to Dick.

"So are we doing it? Loser has to jump naked into Mermaid Lagoon?" he stuck out his hand to shake. Dick sighed, refusing to back down from his own challenged and clasped Jason's hand with a determined smile.

"You are so on."

...

The sun had set hours ago, and the Robins had been searching for the fairies since dusk. It must have been early morning at this point. Dick carried Damian (who had passed out some time ago) on his back, Stephanie followed behind, yawning sleepily and Jason (fighting sleep like a champ) held Tim's hand, tugging the poor boy (who was practically asleep on his feet) gently behind.

"Dick, give up, it's almost dawn," Jason called, fighting a yawn. "Just admit it, there are no fairies. Let's go home and sleep and you can swim with the mermaids tomorrow."

"No!" Dick insisted pleadingly. "There here, I know they are. Let's just-...we have to find the meadow, I know we're close!"

Stephanie groaned between them and rubbed her eyes to keep the sleep at bay. "Dick, please, we've been searching all night. Damian's already out, Timmy's dead on his feet and I'm exhausted," she complained.

"No 'm not," Tim mumbled, barely conscious from behind Jason. Stephanie rolled her eyes.

"I'm giving you five more minutes, then I'm going back to the treehouse," she crossed her arms firmly. "So I better see some fairies  _now_."

Dick grunted in frustration and shifted Damian to get a better hold as he looked all around him, hoping to spot even the tiniest little light. But there was none.

Jason smirked from behind as he leaned casually against a tree. "You know, I think we should burn your clothes while you're playing naked with the killer mermaids. That way you'll have to run around nude forever. Can you imagine prince Red Arrow hunting you and laughing to death when he discovers you in nothing but skin? Oh, or imagine fighting the p _irates_ , that'll be a laugh," Jason snickered.

Dick grimaced and hung his head in defeat at the thought. What was the old saying he remembered about making his bed? ...Oh yeah. Now he had to sleep in it.

"Oh, look, the sun's starting to rise," Jason pointed out over the treetops. "Guess that means I win after all," he sneered. Tim rubbed his eyes and yawned tiredly. "You mean we actually spent all  _night_  out here?" he whined.

"No way," Stephanie blinked in confusion. "It can't be dawn yet. It's late, but it's not  _tha_ t late. How is the sun already coming up?"

"It's not!" Dick cried out with a gasp of victory, causing Damian to jerk awake with a displeased grumble. "That's not the sun, that's the fairies! Look, it's not in the sky, they're just on the treetops!" he laughed and pointed with glee. "You can see them  _moving_!"

Jason blinked in denial and squinted into the horizon in disbelief. But Dick was right; it wasn't the sun rising in the sky like he had thought. It was thousands and thousands of tiny lights mixed up together as they flew above the treetops.

"I guess you won't get to see my glorious ass after all. We all get to get  _blinded_  by yours," Dick teased victoriously. Jason scowled and groaned in defeat.

"Come on, come  _on_ , let's get a closer look!" Stephanie shrieked eagerly, suddenly wide awake as she bolted ahead of the sleepy boys.

Damian hopped down from Dick's back with a 'thud' and Tim stretched and yawned widely. "We can't just let her go alone," he shrugged. Damian 'Tt"ed him and ran forward after the blonde eagerly.

"Wouldn't dream of it," Dick replied, elated. "Come on Jay, what are you waiting for?" he giggled, before jumping onto a tree branch and twirling away like the acrobat he was. Tim looked up at Jason, smiling and shrugging passively before grabbing his hand and urging him forward as Jason did for Tim not five minutes before. Jason followed grumpily, but not without the same wonder and curiosity as the others. Just five minutes go, the fairies had just been a fable. And though it irritated him that Dick was actually  _right_ for once, at least it was about something spectacular.

They both had to run to catch up to the others, especially Dick swinging through the trees like a stupid monkey. But when Jason and Tim finally caught up to Stephanie and Damian, Dick landed silently (which never failed to baffle Jason, and everyone else for that matter) in front of them and pressed a finger in front of his lips, whispering "Shhh," to quiet them.

"Be quiet," he instructed carefully. "No sudden movements. No loud noises. Don't startle them, okay?" he whispered. Stephanie nodded impatiently while the boys muttered in obedience. Dick nodded at the assent and finally let them tread through behind him as he lead them toward the flittering lights.

The meadow, when they finally entered it, was more beautiful than Dick had given it justice in his story. The grass was long and decorated with delicate flowers that rippled in the gentle breeze. There were weeping willow trees all around the clearing, dotted with millions of tiny little lights; red, green, blue, purple, orange, gold, pink, and every other color one could think of. They weren't dancing as Dick had described, but when Jason squinted, he could definitely see them twirling and flitting around like fireflies with shimmering wings and dress like leaves and flower petals and hair like fire and ice and vines. They were...

"Incredible," Stephanie whispered in awe, spinning around in the center of the meadow, trying to see all there was to see.

"I  _told_  you," Dick smiled, sticking his chin out proudly.

"Dick...you were right," Jason admitted as wild, colorful lights flew before his eyes.

"I- wait what?" Dick's eyes widened as he turned to the second oldest.

"You were right. I can't just deny what's right in front of me," he replied, unable to meet the boy's eyes. "Besides, wasn't that one of my punishments?"

Dick grinned and laughed. "It was. I just never thought you'd actually admit it. You can jump in the Lagoon tomorrow, I'm willing to wait on that for now," he nudged him affectionately before returning his attention to the pixies floating above them. Jason sighed and shook his head, but couldn't help but pull his lips into a smile.

"Do you think they'll let us fly, like in your story?" Tim tugged on Dick's sleeve hopefully. Dick cast his eyes up to the little sprites and shrugged unkowingly. "I'm not sure. Look, they won't even come near us, I-"

"Oh, look at this one! She's so cute!" Stephanie giggled as the boys turned toward her. There in her hand, chewing on red raspberry stood an orange fairy with hair like burning red fire.

"How...how did you  _do_  that?" Dick gaped at her in awe.

"I picked some berries in the woods before we got here because I was hungry, and I guess she smelled them on me," Stephanie laughed. "They like food," she concluded.

The little orange pixie finished the berry and twinkled happily like a little bell. "Oh, and she says her name is Starfire," Stephanie, added.

"You can  _understand_  them?" Damian's jaw dropped in amazement.

Stephanie shrugged. "All you have to do is listen," she replied before Starfire zoomed off her hand and circled around them all in a blinding flash of light.

"Where'd she go?" Dick asked, darting his eyes every which way to try and spot her again. Tim giggled and pointed at Dick's shoulder, where  Starfire hovered, examining a strip of his long black hair. In another trail of light, she was tugging on Jason's white streak with an excited twinkle and then flittering right in front of Damian's nose.

"She's a bold little thing, isn't she?" Damian muttered, waving her away quickly. She stuck her tongue out at him before flying to rest on top of Tim's matted hair, twinkling furiously.

Tim belted out in laughter, nearly doubling over as he turned to the youngest. "Sh-she says that you're a b-big nosed elephant boy," he giggled. She twinkled merrily at the laughter that ensued, though Dick tried hard to suppress it. Starfire flew to Jason and twinkled animatedly by his ear.

"She also says," Jason grinned, "that you're as rotten as the inside of a pirate's-"

"That's not very nice!" Dick interrupted, unable to hold back a snicker. Starfire flickered immediately and began sparkling to Dick in a flurry of tiny words.

"I'm not a  _girl_ , my hair is just long," Dick protested. The other's had to double over because they were laughing so hard.

"I  _like_  her," Jason grinned ecstatically. Starfire, tiny as she was, grinned very, very widely and flew over to him and nuzzled his nose happily.

"She says we humans aren't so bad ourselves," he translated easily.

"Guys! Look at the others, they're all...staring at us," Tim pointed above them. And indeed, all the fairies of all the different colors flew and floated around them, observing them curiously.Starfire flew up and tingled all around them animatedly.

"That's her family," Stephanie murmured in awe. "And they're all  _listening_  to her,  _look_ ," she exclaimed brightly. Indeed, the entire swarm of tiny lights gathered around Starfire as she spoke to them, turning and pointing to the children frequently. "She must be the leader or something. Oh! Sorry, she said  _princess_ ," Stephanie arched her brows high in surprise.

"We got checked out by the princess of the fairies. How about that?" Jason exchanged a smirk with Dick.

Stephanie rolled her eyes. " _Boys_ ," she muttered exasperatedly. "I wonder what they're talking about up there...it's too fast for me to understand now."

But before they could debate about it, Starfire's meeting seemed to end as thousands of fairies fluttered all around them and examined them just as Star did. The five Robins glanced at each other in amazement and the tiny beings played with their hair and wove between their fingers and poked at their clothes curiously.

"This is incredible!" Tim laughed elatedly. "I feel like-...like I'm weightless, like I'm-...Dick! I'm flying!"

"Me too! Timmy, look!" Stephanie shrieked as she looked to the ground far below.

"We  _all_  are," Dick beamed as his story from before came to life. They were all  _flying_. How impossible, how spectacular, how...gifted they were. Starfire buzzed in front of his face imploringly and landed on his outstretched hand.

"Yes, it's...wonderful. Thank you," he murmured. She waved him off, turning a little bit brighter orange and twinkled again bashfully. "Really? That's all it is? Happy thoughts?" Star twinkled loudly and jumped up pointedly in front of his face. "With your pixie dust, of course, I'm sorry," he chuckled shyly. Star nodded and ruffled his long hair fondly.

"Can we come visit you more often?" Stephanie asked as she floated weightlessly through the treetops. Starfire sparkled brightly and nodded.

"She says we can come to the fairies whenever we like...we're welcome any time," Tim translated giddily. "She also says that our flying could use some work and that we could use a bath," he added, earning a snicker from Jason and a twinkle of agreement from the other fairies.

"Fair enough," Stephanie laughed as they gently descended back to the ground below. "Do we know how to get back to the treehouse from here? Or back here from the treehouse? I don't want to forget how to come back," she frowned. "I want to come and fly again."

Starfire sparkled and twittered lively and Stephanie brightened. "She says we can fly anytime we want! We have the gift of fairy dust now, all we have to do is think happy thoughts!" she exclaimed in laughter as she began to float into the air with happiness once more.

"Thank you, Miss Star," Dick bowed in gratitude, Starfire covered her mouth in what was a tiny little giggle and Jason smirked at the corniness of the elder Robin.

"Come on, quit flirting with the princess, we have to get back home and go to bed. And maybe eat," Jason ordered as his stomach growled and sleep tugged at his eyes.

"Yeah, that's right. You have to be well rested for the skinny-dipping in the Lagoon tomorrow," Dick teased, shoving at the other boy playfully before calling out to the others to get ready to go.

"Just you wait, I'll get you back," Jason warned, waving goodbye to the fairies as they lifted into the air and flew above the treetops of Neverland back toward their treehouse. "Race you, dickface!"

"You are  _so_ on," Dick smirked, zooming after him.

 


	3. Mermaid Lagoon

Jason inched lowly to the cliff and peered over cautiously. He shivered when he saw the mermaids; two bathing themselves lavishly under the waterfall, one sprawled out on a boulder to warm up in the sun, three were playing some kind of game with a seashell and Jason was sure there were more underneath the surface. They were beautiful creatures, from far away; lovely in fact. But up close, Jason new how conniving and devious the stupid fish women were. Well...he can’t say they didn’t deserve it. The mermaids might have trusted them once, a long time ago, but the Lost Boys had thrown one two many rocks and pissed four or five too many times in their pure waters. Needless to say, the mermaids didn’t like them so much.

 

He groaned in hesitation when one of them actually spotted him; she stared and squinted at him for a good half a minute or so before pointing and squealing to get the attention of her sisters, who each in turn glanced up and started laughing. 

 

“What’s the matter, Todd? Are you getting shy?” Damian snickered behind, where the rest of the robins stood clear of the edge of the cliff.

 

“Yeah, Jason, don’t be a chicken. We’ll have to push you if you don’t go through with it,” Dick called with a devious little wink. Jason scowled, but otherwise said nothing. He was not a scaredy cat. He lost the bet fair and square and now he was going to jump naked into the Lagoon like he promised...and try to fly away before the mermaids drowned him.

 

“Jason, don’t,” Tim pleaded with wide eyes. “This is stupid, you could get hurt! You don’t have to listen to them!”

 

“Shut up, pipsqueak, or we’ll throw you over too,” Damian threatened, earning a snicker from Stephanie at the word ‘pipsqueak,’ which made Tim flush slight pink.

 

“Besides, he  _has_  to jump, Timmy. You know the rules about backing out of a dare,” Dick pointed out matter-of-factly. Jason’s stomach lurched at the thought and Tim grimaced and nodded unwillingly. “If Jason doesn’t go through with his punishment, he loses his honor and therefore his privilege as a Lost Boy. “But if you want to go with him to give him some encouragement, please, by all means,” Dick stood aside and let Damian shove the boy forward. Tim squawked in fear and whimpered before Jason snarled at them and pushed Tim back.

 

“Lay off him! I’m going alright? Jeez,” he grumbled, turning back to the cliff and sucking in a deep, uncertain breath. 

 

“I think you’re forgetting something, Jaybird,” Stephanie sing-songed innocently. Jason frozed and groaned in discomfort. 

 

“Does  _she_ have to watch? She wouldn’t let  _us_  watch if  _she_  jumped in naked,” Jason griped as he yanked off the smock of a shirt.

 

“Says who?” Stephanie grinned mischeviously. “ _I’m_  not afraid of being nude.”

 

“Yeah, right,” Jason muttered, throwing the dirty shirt in her face before finally stepping out of his trousers and kicking them back towards Tim. “Please don’t let them burn my stuff,” he instructed quietly. Tim, who’s face was a little redder than usual, had to clear his throat and nod quickly as he stammered “O-okay.” Jason didn’t think much of it; he had much bigger problems on his mind. Like bearing the shrieks of either laughter or outrage from the mermaids below.

 

“You know,” Stephanie hummed in appreciation from behind, now that she had finally removed the smirck from her face. “You really don’t look that bad,” she smirked. “Not as pretty as Dick, but not bad.”

 

“When have you-” Dick squawked in shock before Stephanie cut him off.

 

“Remember when the Indians had that ‘super important chief ceremony’ under the full moon and you sent us back home?” she grinned. The Lost Children laughed as Dick blushed scarlet. “Turns out his ‘super important ceremony’ was only dancing naked around a bonfire and smoking their peace pipe with-”

 

“O- _kay_ , Stephanie, I think it’s time to shut up now,” Dick cut her off with an estranged smile and a hand clamped around her mouth (which she bit without hesitation, making Dick shriek).

 

“Hey, Steph, if I can snatch one of the Mermaid’s shells for you, will you tell me the rest of that story later?” Jason grinned with glittering eyes. Stephanie lit up and Dick gasped, “You  _wouldn’t_!” Jason winked before taking two steps back and then rushing forward to dive headfirst right off the side of the cliff.

 

Jason hit the water not two seconds later, and he was engulfed in the stinging, cold darkness. He managed to thrash and twist enough to find his way to the surface and gasp wildly to catch his breath and steady enough to stay afloat. “Shit, it’s cold!” he shivered, treading the water carefully as he swam out into the center. He could hear the laughter of his fellow robins above him and he stuck his tongue out between shudders. “Sh-shut up! I’d love to y _ou guys_  try and swim with your balls frozen solid!” He was sure Stephanie made some witty reply about not  _having_  balls, but he couldn’t hear her with the rush of water roaring in his ears. Not that he cared about her sarcasm much anyway. He rolled his eyes at the thought before freezing when he heard five large splashes from across the lagoon. He turned just in time to see that the mermaids had dived in and were swimming very fast and very gracefully straight for him. He looked up at the top of the cliff where his four friends peered over to see and he flashed them a daring grin.

 

“Jason,  _don’t_ , you’ll never make it!” Tim pleaded anxiously as the mermaids swam ever closer to Jason’s form in the water. Even Dick called out a warning of “That’s all you had to do, don’t be stupid-" But even if Jason c _ould_  hear them, their pleas would have fallen on deaf ears. He was a good swimmer, he could get passed the mermaids and snatch a stupid shell before flying away. 

 

He sucked in a deep, preparing breath and dove once again deep beneath the surface, enough to swim right underneath his lethal, fishy opponents. He could hear them shriek at him from above, but didn’t stop to listen since he was too busy swimming for his life. The mermaids got so close to him at one point that one almost managed to grab his ankle (which would have been very, very bad for Jason if she had succeeded. He would have been drowned on the spot), and by some miracle, just as one of them prepared to launch at him, he crawled up on their enormous boulder in the center of the Lagoon and snatched the biggest, prettiest shell centered at the very top. It was a huge blue and yellow one, shaped so smoothly and perfectly that it must have been crafted by the god of the sea himself. He gazed, lost in appreciation of it’s smooth, colorful beauty for longer than he cared to admit. In fact, he would have been completely lost if Dick, Stephanie, Tim and Damian didn’t start screaming at him from the cliff. It was only then that he realized the mermaids had already clawed their way up the rock and two of them had wrought, iron grips around his ankles.

 

“Come with us, sweet boy,” cooed the one to his left, who had black, ebony hair dotted with sea stars and a necklace of luminescent pearls.

 

“Yes, come live with us, sweet,  _beautiful_  boy, and we can make you many more shells as beautiful as that one,” the one to his right with hair green as the Lagoon itself sang. “We can give you anything you like; riches and jewels, beauty, all our finest women lavishing you day and night under the sea.”

 

Jason shook his head and kicked them away as he tried to snap out of the trances of their beautiful voices. “Sorry, girls, but you’re not my type,” he grinned. “But I will take just the one shell. Thank you,” he bowed mockingly. The mermaid with the black hair screeched in anger and withdrew a coral dagger from underneath the water and raised it high over her head, preparing to strike at him. Jason’s eyes widened, and he cursed loudly before kicking out of her grip and jumping off the boulder immediately. The mermaids swiftly swam around to the other side where the boy must have fallen in, but saw no ripples and felt no disturbance in the water at all. They stared at each other in confusion before they heard a whistle right above their heads and looked up to see the infernal boy not a foot from their faces.

 

“Boo,” he whispered with a nasty grin before splashing them and tearing off stark naked into the sky toward the cliff. The black haired mermaid screamed and wailed and cursed at him from behind and threatened to tear out his throat if he ever returned to the Lagoon. Jason ignored her spectacularly  as he landed on top of the cliff, shell in hand and dripping proudly onto the grass.

 

“I’d like to see  _you_  losers do that,” he laughed breathlessly at their shocked expressions and tossed the beautiful shell to Stephanie easily. She caught it, but didn’t smile at Jason a brightly as he hoped she would. Or at all, to be honest.

 

“What?” Jason frowned. “I went through all that trouble for you, why are you making that face?”

 

“It was  _hers_ ,” she nodded to the mermaid who was now weeping on the boulder, comforted by four or five of the others. 

 

“So what?” Jason shrugged indifferently. “They tried to kill me and all you’re worried about it one of their stupid shells that  _you_  wanted?” he accused.

 

“It was  _hers_. This is just any old shell, Jason. Maybe to us, but not to her,” she snapped, gesturing toward the mermaid intently. “Give it back. Get me another one.”

 

“No way. It’s a pretty shell, if you don’t want it, throw it back. Maybe then she’ll stop screeching at us,” he rolled his eyes and shook his head wildly to get the water out of his hair. “Tim, do you still have my clothes?” he asked. Tim, of course, still had them bundled up in his arms and was still clutching them tightly after the scene he had just witnessed. And honestly, after _that_ , no one would have tried to burn them anyway. Jason ruffled the boy’s hair fondly with a gruff “Thank’s Timmy,” before slipping them back on and sighing as he was covered once more.

 

Stephanie, however, hadn’t moved an inch and just kept staring at the colorful shell in her hand. She couldn’t just throw it back, that would be disrespectful. Not that stealing it in the first place was respectful to begin with, but... her heart ached to see the lovely mermaid crying like that. It must have been important to her. Stephanie sighed heavily, not happy about losing her beautiful souvenir and wary that the mermaids would try to kill her on spot for doing this and lifted herself weightlessly into the air.

 

“Brown, what are you doing?” Damian demanded. “Don’t be  _absurd_ , she’ll get over it. They’re going to kill you if you go down there!”

 

Stephanie turned to the boys with a pointed look and rolled her eyes. “Nah. I’ll be back in five,” she smiled assuringly before leaping over the cliff and making her way gracefully toward the boulder where seven angry mermaids were giving her a death glare. She paused a good ten feet away with her hands up in surrender and floated cautiously straight toward the ebony haired one in the center.

 

“Come any closer and I’ll slice your throat,” a red haired mermaid snarled, coral dagger pointed at her readily.

 

Stephanie flinched hesitantly and paused. “I-...I’m sorry about my friend,” she forced out through a very dry mouth. “We only dared him to jump naked into the Lagoon and...and he took it too far. He stole the shell for me,” she admitted with a dark blush. “I didn’t want him to hurt you and...I’m sorry. Here,” she offered the shell humbly. 

 

“It is a trick of some kind! Let me drown her,” a white haired mermaid snarled, looking up to the ebony mermaid for permission. The ebony mermaid simply stared at the blonde cautiously before stretching out her webbed hand and taking the shell slowly.

 

“Why are you returning this?” she asked suspiciously. “You Lost Boys are beastly little creatures who do nothing but torment us. Why are you being so... _decent_  for once?”

 

Stephanie shook her head and bit the inside of her cheek. “We do not mean to be, well...mean. We just play these silly games and-”

 

“And aren’t careful who you hurt in the process,” she snapped, setting the shell in her lap gently without looking at the girl.

 

“I-...we’re sorry,” she murmured in shame. “We didn’t know you valued the shells so much.”

 

The ebony mermaid looked up at her funnily and even managed to snort a laugh. “This isn’t just a shell,” she shook her head. “Not that shells aren’t important. They are symbols of beauty in my world. But this,” she lifted the shell for her to see, “is a living creature. My dear friend and pet. He is a hermit crab,” she smiled. Even as she said it, Stephanie could see little legs start to crawl outside the edge of the shell and she flew back several feet, startled. 

 

“That’s your... _pet_?” she tilted her head, observing in wonder. The ebony girl  smiled and nodded. 

 

“Thank you for returning him....after stealing him in the first place,” she narrowed her eyes coolly. “For that, I will spare your life this time. But if you return here, we won’t hesitate to kill you next time. Understood?” she glared dangerously.

 

“Yes,” Stephanie nodded. “Before I go...what is your name?”

 

The mermaid frowned and tilted her head distrustfully. “Why would I tell you that?”

 

“Because, we tell stories of our adventures to each other and I want something to properly remember you by when I tell mine,” she explained hopefully.

 

The ebony mermaid laughed and shook her head. “I am Cassandra, daughter of the sea. And what do I call you when I tell  _my_  story?”

 

The blonde grinned and replied proudly, “Stephanie Brown, First and Only Lost Girl of Neverland, of course.” And with that, she saluted the mermaids and flew off back toward the cliff to recall her tale excitedly.

 

Cassandra stared after curiously and shook her head. “Well that was odd,” the green mermaid frowned.

 

“Yes, it was,” Cassandra agreed stoically.

 

“I don’t like her,” the red head stated in distrust. “I didn’t even know she was a girl. It’s a shame those boys got their hands on her before we could.”

 

“What do you think, my lady?” the white mermaid asked.

 

“I think...” Cassandra murmured thoughtfully, “that maybe there is hope for the beasties after all.”


	4. The New Girl

Some weeks later, the five Robins had mastered the art of flying and using to their advantage against both the pirates and the Indians: the children quite purposefully let themselves get captured, much to the captain's glee, and were forced to walk the plank. Stifling their laughter had paid off during Ghul-ie's victory speech, because seeing all their utter, stupid confusion was priceless to the children. Later that same day, they challenged the native archers to a game of war and -though the Indians had sprung some very clever traps on them- they had triumphed in the end and were thrown a feast by chief Green Arrow. After a quick visit to see princess Starfire and the fairies (and since messing with the mermaids was off limits because Stephanie had become aggressively protective over them since the whole hermit crab debacle), the day had been another fantastic adventure for them, so they all settled on heading back to their treehouse to wind down with a promise of a new day of adventures tomorrow.

"Did you hear that?" Stephanie paused, rudely interrupting their nightly game of Who Can Tell the Best Lie. It had been Tim's turn, too, and he looked sour as Stephanie stood to her feet. They were inside their treehouse now and the sun had drifted low into the sky, casting the first shadows of night over Neverland. The only sounds at this time of day were usually just the never-birds rustling in trees or the occasional, faint drinking tune of the pirates in the bay. But the boys heard neither tonight; all had been quiet.

"What are you talking about Steph?" Jason grumbled from where he sat with crossed legs on the floor.

"Shh! Listen," she frowned, cupping her ear and inching forward toward the edge of their home. Dick, humoring her, followed suit and gestured for the rest of them to do the same. For a moment, there was nothing, but then a soft rustle of branches caught their attention. It was growing steadily louder, too, which meant only one thing; it was coming closer.

"Pirates?" Jason whispered in alarm. Who else could it be? The native archers wouldn't come calling at this time of day; besides, they had already played together this afternoon, they wouldn't want to see the lost boys so soon again after _that_ loss. Dick shook his head vehemently at the suggestion.

"No way, they wouldn't know where to find us," he reasoned worriedly.

Tim chewed on the inside of his cheek uncertainly before adding, "They may not know we're here, if it's the pirates. They could just be wandering around?"

"In which case, you should all probably shut up so they don't hear us," Damian hissed, eyes wide with anxiety which he hid well behind a sneer.

"Shut _up_ , boys, I'm trying to _hear_ ," Stephanie snapped, crawling forward. The boys bit their tongues and continued to listen to the rustling. It was steady and quiet bristling, though as the seconds grew longer the bristling turned crunches and snaps of twigs, and  _those_ eventually turned into faint footsteps treading clumsily through the woods. Someone was definitely coming.

Overcome by curiosity and the need to defend their home, the children crawled out of their house and peered through the high branches of the trees to try and glimpse the intruder. When the finally caught a glimpse, there was a quiet, collective gasp; it wasn't pirates, or Indians, or anyone they knew for that matter. It was a young _girl_ , wandering aimlessly and obviously lost. She had wary blue eyes and wore some kind of dirty uniform (which was probably immaculate before she found her way to Neverland) that consisted of khaki pants, white button-up and a navy blue, crested vest. Dick leaned in, trying to get a better look at her.

"Uh oh, everyone, it's another ginger," Jason whispered, chuckling quietly. "Dick's only weakness." Dick snapped his head up, cheeks very pink, and glared at Jason indignantly. Even Stephanie giggled at that one.

"S _hut up_ , Jay," he pouted angrily. Jay flashed him a snarky grin; Stephanie had told him all about Dick's late night adventure with Red Arrow. Jason had teased him mercilessly, too; only _grown ups_ kiss, after all. Dick had to swear he'd never kiss the prince, or anyone else for that matter, again to earn their forgiveness.

"Make me, dickface," he jeered with a mean grin. Dick lifted his fist, ready to slug Jason on the arm, but by shifting his position he threw off his balance on his branch and snapped it. The branch crashed down and Dick was left floating startled in the open on what was left of his branch.

"Hello?!" the girl called, fear causing her voice to tremor ever so slightly. Dick didn't hide himself fast enough, and the girl spotted him easily.

"Hey! Are you alright? Get down from those trees, you'll get hurt!" Dick blinked at her and the others, still hidden, and they simply chortled and rolled their eyes. Did she not see him balanced perfectly? He was an  _acrobat_ for goodness sake.  _And_ he could fly. She sounded whiny and annoying, like- like..... what _did_ she sound like?

"Who are you, my mother?" Dick called, attempting to joke, but it sounded less like humor and more along the lines of... _awe_.

"No, but I'm sure wherever your mother is, she would whip you for climbing so high. Now come down before you break your neck!" The Lost Boys watched silently, almost infuriated to see their leader leap down off his branch in obedience. The girl screamed, obviously thinking that Dick had just plummeted to his death, but her jaw dropped when he floated and even back-flipped freely (to show off, of course) and touched his feet harmlessly to the ground before her.

"H-how did you- I mean, you shouldn't be- _what was that_?" she strangled out in a panic.

("Ugh," Stephanie whispered in annoyance from above. "She is such a nag, I don't like her." Damian grimaced and nodded his agreement.

"You sure it's not just cause she's another girl? Don't you _like_ being the only lost girl? Now that Ginger's here, she'll probably have to take your place," Jason murmured back to her wickedly. Stephanie hissed at him in anger.

"Stephanie, Dick would never replace you," Tim soothed her with a friendly smile. "Jason's just being mean." Jason frowned in betrayal at his friend and pouted as Stephanie thanked him sweetly.)

"Flying, of course," Dick replied in blatantly, rolling his eyes. "How was that not obvious?" The girl scowled at him.

"Of course it's obvious, boy, it just shouldn't be _possible_ ," she insisted. " _How_?" Dick blinked at her before scoffing and crossing his arms pointedly with a crooked smirk.

"Wouldn't you love to know?" he grinned, lifting himself a foot into the air just to show off that he could do it again. "I'd tell you if I could, but it's a club secret," he explained.

"W-... _club_?" she repeated, scanning around for any other flying children. Dick looked above to where the other Lost Boys were hiding and whistled, gesturing for them to come down. They leaped out all at once and whooped excitedly through the air as they flew. The girl's eyes bugged out as she stared in amazement.

"You can all... _fly_ ," she admitted in a hush as they all met Dick and descended down to stand in front of her.

"Yep," Dick responded cheerily, proudly placing his hands on his hips and throwing out his chest. "We're awesome, aren't we?" No one could say Dick Grayson didn't have an ego, but at least this was a point that each and every Robin agreed on by nodding and whooping vehemently.

"You're...something, alright," she acknowledged, earning a scoff from Stephanie and Jason.

"Who are you all?" she asked, taking in their strange clothes made of animal skin and leaves, trying not to cringe at the dirt and grime they were all covered with. "And...where are your parents?"

"We're the Lost Boys," Dick explained. "And Lost Girl, of course," he added, nodding to Stephanie courteously.

"Yeah, and we don't got any parents. Don't _need_ any, either. Dick takes care of us," Stephanie jerked her head toward Dick pointedly and crossed her arms.

"You mean you live here in the wild by _yourselves_?" the girl responded, drawing back in alarm.

"Lady, it's not like we're alone," Jason rolled his eyes. "We have  _each other_. And it isn't just the wild; it's _Neverland_." Before the girl could open her mouth to respond, Dick stuck his hand out and interrupted, fighting to win her attention back.

"My name's Dick Grayson," he introduced. The girl stared at his dirty hand and sighed reluctantly before moving to take it.

"Barbara...Gordon," she replied.

"That's a start, Barbara," he encouraged happily. "So. How'd you get to Neverland?" Barbara's expression softened into sadness and confusion again.

"I-...I don't _know_ , exactly. I was walking home from school because I missed the bus and... I turned down the wrong alley and...got _lost_ , and somehow ended up here," she recalled. The Robins blinked at her blankly.

"School?" Tim chimed with interest.

"Bus?" Jason echoed in confusion. "What's that?" Barbara looked taken aback at the question.

"You know-" she tried to explain. "Well, it's... It's a big, yellow vehicle, and you ride it to and from school with other kids. _School's_ where you learn things and socialize and play with other students."

"Sounds wonderful," Tim hummed dreamily.

Damian cocked his head at her words with begrudging interest and couldn't help but ask her, "What do you learn at school? How to hunt or build tree houses? I bet we would _win_ at school," he grinned.

"No, no, silly," Barbara giggled. "No, at school you learn things like math and science and art; important things, you know... for when you grow up." She probably meant it kindly, but each and every one of the Robins suddenly hissed and leaped back at the words.

"It's not _that_ bad," Barbara defended with a frown.

"Yes it is!" Dick exclaimed back darkly. "We don't grow up here in Neverland; we don't need it and we sure as hell don't want it."

"What are you talking about?" Barbara laughed patronizingly kind. "Of course you have to grow up; _everyone_ does."

"Not us," Jason smirked proudly, puffing out his chest. "Neverland let's us stay young and have _fun_!" Stephanie and Dick made vehement noises of agreement and Tim nodded.

"You don't grow up?" The Lost Children shook their heads and smiled wide.

"Well, all accept for Damian, but he's only ten and he wants to wait until he's 12 or something," Jason shrugged. Barbara stared blankly at the children in shock.

 _Here it comes_ , Dick thought; this is the moment when all newcomers inevitably had to ask "How?" or "Can I stay young, too?" Dick had four other Robins following him to prove it.

"How long have you been here, then? Like this?" Barbara asked in amazement. Dick's brows shot up in surprise at the question and then Jason, Stephanie and Damian furrowed and frowned, trying to think back.

"I've been here... 18,250 days," Tim offered almost instantly, to Jason's shock.

"What? I _told_ you I counted," Tim shrugged at his gaping expression.

"50 _years_?" Barbara choked breathlessly after a few moments of calculating.

"Do me, do me!" Stephanie cheered. "How long have I been here, Tim?" Tim scrunched his nose, trying hard to recall.

"I want to say 6,000 or so?" he guestimated with a shrug.

"That's nearly 16 years," Barbara breathed in astonishment.

"What about you two?" she turned to the the elder boys questioningly. Dick and Jason exchanged glances and shrugged; unlike their whiz-kid, they hadn't exactly cared to count.

"Wow," Barbara whistled. "Is there...anything you remember from _before_ , maybe?" she pressed eagerly. Jason sneered uncomfortably and shook his head, but Dick jumped to answer.

"I was in a circus," he chimed helpfully. "My whole family was! We travelled all over the place and _everyone_ , even a few of the nobility once came to see us!"

"Holy _cow_ ," Barbara gasped. "That might make you...countless _hundreds_ of years old."

"Pfft, what in Neverland are you talking about? I'm only 16," he dismissed easily with the wave of his hand. Barbara stilled and stared at him in awe.

"So am I," she informed slowly, still staring at the boy as if she were star-struck. To be fair, it had happened to each and every one of the lost children when they saw Dick's gleaming face and boyish charm for the first time. It did tend to get old, however, the more the elder Robins had to watch it happen. Dick, however, seemed absolutely oblivious.

"Then you're perfect!" Dick laughed with glee. "You're still young enough to be one of us. It'll be so much fun, and Stephanie will be ecstatic to play with another girl for once," he rambled on excitedly. Stephanie turned up her nose with an indignant snort, letting Barbara know  _exactly_ just how excited she was, but the others chittered away madly at having yet another Robin among them. Barbara herself beamed happily at the thought of being accepted. At least... until something in the back of her mind made her chew her lip and hesitate.

"What is it?" Tim, perceptive as he was, asked in concern.

"It's just-" she swallowed thickly. "I...miss my parents. And my little brother. I-" her eyes began to water as she took a breath. Dick's chest, for the first time that he could remember in his history of Neverland, began to ache as he watched the girl's face contort tightly.

"I just want to go home," Barbara cried softly.

"But...why?" Tim asked, genuinely confused. It was so wonderful here, why would anyone want to go back or go away?

"Maybe we could bring you little brother _here_?" Dick wandered aloud, obviously trying to figure out any way that could make her stay.

"What about my mom and dad?" Barbara followed up heavily, glancing at Dick from under her lashes. For a moment, and definitely, totally _not_ because of those big, blue eyes, he actually considered it.

"No! No grown-ups!" Jason interjected rapidly. Barbara's head sank sadly and she did not respond. Dick shot a death glare at Jason before throwing his arm protectively and comfortingly around Barbara's shoulders.

"Well...maybe we can help you find a way back to your family. But... you don't have to go yet, do you?" he pleaded hopefully. "You could...stay with us? Just until we found a way for you to go back, of course," he ushered nervously. Barbara glanced up at him uncertainly for a moment and smiled.

"Really?" she murmured. Dick grinned the biggest, best, boyish grin he could summon and nodded encouragingly.

"But I- I don't even know your names," she stammered, turning to look at each Lost Child in turn.

"Oh, that's easy," Dick guffawed. "Come on. Let's get you inside and get you something to eat; we can introduce everyone there."

"Okay," she agreed as Dick helped her to her feet.

"At least she won't be staying long," Stephanie muttered to Jason bitterly.

"I hope not," he concurred as Tim raced to catch up with Dick and Barbara. "She acts _way_ too much like a grown up. She'll drive a wedge through us if we're not careful, you watch."


	5. Kisses

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter, the characters will be splitting up for their own unique adventures, so it will be kind of long. But trust me, it'll be one of the best chapters in the story ;)

Barbara -though not officially a Robin, per se- fit in quite well with the Lost Boys. She took up the role of cooking -though she was squeemish to skin a fish or a rabbit at first- and cleaning and patching their dirty ragged clothes, and washing their cuts and scrapes. Even as skeptical as Jason and Stephanie were about the red-head, Barbara had just been too kind to them for the two of them to hate her for long. They may not _like_ her a lot; but they didn't want her to _die_ or anything...anymore. Tim, being the smallest, had become one of her favorites; Tim insisted to Jason on multiple occasions that he was still his best friend and nothing would change that, _ever_. It was just that Barbara told him stories and kissed him on top of the head each night before bed. She did the same for Damian too, of course (though Damian was much too stubborn to admit that he enjoyed it).

Dick (though he had pouted when Barbara didn't kiss _him_ on the head at night) was absolutely smitten with the girl. He frequently brought her trinkets like brightly colored Never-bird feathers or aromatic flowers that she used to either decorate their tree house, other times simply to let Dick tuck in her hair (which would make her get all doughy-eyed for some reason).

"Why does she turn red like that?" Damian frowned in confusion. "It seems silly." Jason shrugged and shook his head obliviously. Tim and Stephanie, however, grimaced and cast side glances at each other.)

Dick, to their shock, even proposed that they let her fly with them.

"Nothing permanent! I just wanna show her the fairies and fly around the island a couple of times, that's all." Dick pleaded sheepishly in the treehouse one day. With much groaning and deliberation, the group agreed to let her fly with them temporarily, even though she wasn't officially part of the group.

Stephanie grimaced and crossed her arms in defeat. "We'll go tonight, then," she sighed reluctantly, drooping her head. Dick, Jason and Damian frowned at her curiously.

"Did you have plans tonight or something?" Jason prodded with a smirk. Stephanie's eyes shot up at him with a glare and her face turned red.

"I mean, you're not exactly subtle about sneaking out at night lately. Where have you been going?" Dick teased gently, elbowing her in the ribs.

"Nowhere!" she blurted perhaps a bit too quickly. "I mean-... it's nothing, forget about it," she demanded, crossing her arms, though it sounded suspiciously like a plea. She cast an anxious glance at Tim for help, but with the elder Robins prying like they were, all he could do was shrug helplessly with an expression of guilt.

"No way, blondie; tell us what you're up to," Jason demanded eagerly, rubbing his hands together and leaning in for the new gossip. Stephanie coughed uncomfortably and made an odd whining noise in the back of her throat.

"Merm'dL'goon," she mumbled quietly, refusing to meet their eyes and hoping they wouldn't hear.

"Say again, Steph?" Dick inquired, a slow grin spreading as he cleaned his ear out with his finger. "I don't think I heard that correctly."

"Mermaid's _Lagoon_! _There_ , okay?!" she shouted with an indignant pout. Jason jerked back in surprise and Dick and Damian snorted.

"What on earth are you doing _there_?" Damian cut in. tilting his head with interest.

"Well," she hesitated. She darted her eyes in a panic to Tim; they both knew why she was really going but it was social suicide to admit anything and they both knew it. Tim nodded, providing encouragement and support on the sideline. Stephanie scrunched her nose at him;  _unhelpful shrimp_. "I was...gonna hang out with...the mermaids," she admitted slowly, carefully even. Dick and Jay exchanged glances and Damian arched his dark brows and looked genuinely surprised. Stephanie took pride in the youngest's bewilderment and reclaimed her lost-girl confident attitude.

"Cass and the others actually _like_ me," she continued with cocky certainty. "And they said I could play with them as much as I want as long as I didn't bring _you_ idiots _,_ " she grinned with full force, practically challenging them to call her out about it.

"Pfft, whatever. You can flirt with the murder-maids all you want, I'll happily keep my distance," Jason rolled his eyes jokingly. Just like that, all the tension practically vanished and Stephanie was off the hook. Tim flashed her a quick, relieved smile, which she off course retaliated with sticking out her tongue, and the others all laughed, thinking she was responding to Jay's teasing. Tim pouted apologetically, and Stephanie rolled her eyes with a silent, partially-forgiving scoff.

"Tell you what, Steph," Dick offered, ghost of a laugh still lingering in his bright blue eyes. "You go on and head to mermaids lagoon tonight. I'll take Barbara to see the fairies and give her a tour of the island, that way everyone can do what they wanna do. Fair?" he offered to the younger members. Stephanie immediately brightened up and nodded her acceptance and Jason, Tim and Damian paused for a moment and exchanged surprised glances.

"Fine by me," Damian shrugged indifferently. "I was going to visit Artemis tonight anyway; she and Huntress offered to teach me how to shoot a bow," Damian smiled proudly. Dick's eyes widened and he grinned, ruffling the youngest's hair with a whoop of impressed congratulations.

("How'd you get them to agree to _that_?" Jason sputtered in awe, definitely _not_ jealousy. Damian smirked at the older boy and winked.)

"Fine then," Jay crossed his arms. "Guess it's just you and me tonight then, huh?" Jason elbowed Tim with a grin. Tim brightened up at him with excitement.

"Sounds like fun," Tim grinned, earning a fond, lopsided smile from the other.

"Excellent!" Dick clapped in finality. "Barbara's almost got dinner finished, I think, so after we eat, we can split up then. Agreed?"

"Agreed!"

.............................................

**(Damian)**

Dinner had gone by fast enough; Damian had actually finished first tonight and quickly thanked Barbara for the stew in his rush to leave.

"Aren't you going to wash up?" Barbara arched a brow in that fond smirk of hers. Jason snickered and Stephanie had to shove another bite in her mouth to hide a grin. Damian threw his head back and groaned as he turned back to snatch his empty bowl. He gave it a quick rinse in the bucket of water Barbara had fetched earlier from the spring and set the wooden bowl aside.

"Can I go now?" he grumbled in his signature pout. Barbara chuckled softly and nodded.

"Of course. Be careful, Dami," she called. Damian barely responded a quick "Okay!" before rushing out the door and finally taking flight off the ground into the late afternoon sky. He closed his eyes blissfully as he sailed through the air, even twirling a bit and doing flips just like Grayson sometimes did when he felt particularly elated. Flying was the most wonderful feeling; it never dulled or got old, it was just like brand new joy every single time. In his opinion, that's what it meant to be in Neverland; never ending joy.

He released a breath of air as the whole island stretched out below him; he could see the both the lagoon _and_ the bay from here. He could even just make out the tiny brown blip that was the pirate ship sailing on the north end of the island. A few Never-birds sailed beside him and cooed merrily, making Damian smile. Jason usually liked to race after them and scare the birds away, but not Damian; he rather enjoyed their company as well as their beauty; the elegance of their brightly colored coats in varying shades of red or purple or green was magnificent, especially against the hues of the blue sky all around them. It was a private hobby of his to admire the views and natural art of Neverland; the others just don't know how to appreciate the small pleasures of life like this; it was all adventures and excitement with them. Not that adventures and excitement wasn't great, but...sometimes Damian just wanted peace and quiet to meditate and feel life humming all around him. He flew beside his bird companions for a few more content minutes, steadily traveling East until the smoke from the Archers' camp became visible and broke his train of thought.

Damian crowed loudly, startling and dispersing his birds as he signaled the tribe of his presence. He could see a few of them tilt their heads up at him as he descended and cried out their greetings as he landed a few feet away from their fire.

"Damian, welcome!" chief Green Arrow hailed him with a wave. Damian waved back and nodded his head courteously. The whole tribe of archers were there tonight. Damian didn't know all of them, but he could name some; the blonde chief, of course, was Green Arrow. Huntress, a woman with dark hair tied back in a knot, sat by his side; she was the best hunter of the group. Her two daughters Artemis and Jade were also present; Jade was the elder and was a spitting image of her mother, and just as deadly with her weapons. Artemis, the younger, was closer to Damian's age, though still older by a few years (probably right around Jason and Dick's age, he had guessed). She was a blonde haired girl, like Stephanie, though much lighter in color. The girl waved at him cheerily from beside Red Arrow, named for his flaming red hair; he wasn't Green Arrow's son, from Damian's understanding, but he was the eldest child of 17 or so, as well as the chief's chosen protege.

"How are you, chief?" he questioned respectfully. Green Arrow shrugged and held up the cooked leg of a wild boar.

"Celebrating our catch of the day. Hungry?" Damian, though pleasantly full from his own dinner, would be a fool to deny the hospitality of the chief, so he accepted a portion gratefully.

"Mmh, it's been too long since I've had boar," Damian hummed appreciatively between bites. "We haven't been able to kill one in a while. Hopefully that'll change after a few lessons from you with a bow." Green Arrow beamed at the flattery and they all steadily fell into conversation.

"How are your brothers and sisters doing?" Huntress inquired curiously from her spot beside Green Arrow. Damian furrowed his brows a bit at the term, but shrugged; might as well be true enough.

"They're well, thank you," Damian replied, taking another ravenous bite of the boar.

"Is Dick still getting you all into trouble?" Red Arrow's eyes glinted in amusement as he spoke. Damian shrugged again.

"As per the usual, I suppose," Damian affirmed with a smirk. "Head in the clouds, giddy as ever, and still a shameless show-off." That had the whole group laughing.

"What about that new girl in your group?" Artemis tilted her head quizzically, leaning back on one arm and letting her long, blonde hair dangle down past her elbows. "We've noticed she's been tagging along with you guys for the past few weeks. She a new Lost Girl?"

Damian snorted and shook his head. "No. She's just staying with us until we can find a way for her to go home. She's nice enough, though. Grayson can't seem to leave her well enough alone, though, it's embarrassing." Green Arrow and Huntress exchanged a funny glance at each other, but said nothing.

"Oh, okay," Artemis nodded in understanding. "You should bring her over sometime and introduce her," she added with a smile. Damian nodded in agreement.

"I'm sure she'll like you all; she pretty much likes anyone she meets; she's unbearably friendly sometimes," he explained, half-joking. The group chuckled at him and continued to chatter pleasantly until all the food had been eaten.

"Alright, Damian, there's just enough light left for a few rounds. You ready?" Huntress smiled, standing up and grabbing her bow. Damian sprang to his feet eagerly and voiced that he was _definitely_ ready. Artemis was already standing with bow in hand and winked at Damian as they started to tread over to the shooting range they had built.

"My mother's bow is a bit big for you, so you and I will have to share. She'll show you the holds and everything and I'll be the one retrieving your arrows," she explained, handing Damian her equipment with a chipper tone. Damian took a moment to bounce it in his hands and get a feel for the weight and shape of the weapon. He held it vertically, as he'd seen the archers do so frequently, and tried to draw the string back in curiosity. He grunted when he figured out it was harder than he expected.

"Don't curl your fingers like that, it'll hurt your hand," Huntress advised. Damian's cheeks warmed up and he nodded.

"Here, just pinch it between your thumb and your first two fingers and use your arm to pull back, not your wrist," Artemis advised. Huntress demonstrated on her bow and Damian was careful to observe before he attempted it again.

"Much better," Artemis approved.

"Now try it with an arrow loaded in," Huntress instructed. Artemis, with a gentle gesture from her mother, pulled an arrow out of her quiver and handed it to Damian. The boy didn't hesitate to fit it to the string and pull it back. Artemis nodded, impressed.

"Not bad, Dami," she approved. "Here, just lower your elbow a little bit- _there_ ," she hummed as she nudged his arms into place. "Now; aim for the circle on the tree right across from you." Damian lined it up and immediately took the shot. The arrow, to his dismay, clattered onto the ground not even ten feet after he fired it. Huntress and Artemis laughed lightly, making Damian's cheeks burn even hotter in embarrassment.

"Don't worry, that happens to everyone in the beginning. Try again, but this time, aim a little higher to account for gravity." Huntress instructed. Damian nodded and tightened his lips. He fired his second arrow determinedly and  this time it actually made it as far as the tree, just missed the trunk altogether. Damian growled in frustration.

"Don't get upset," Artemis cooed, placing a hand on his shoulder soothingly. "Breathe. Try again," she urged. He had to try four or five more times before he could even hit the tree, and another dozen (with plenty of grunting and cursing) before he finally managed to fire one just inside the edge of the circle. When it finally did happen, though, Huntress and Artemis cheered wildly for him. The raging blush on his cheeks subsided and he took a breath of relief. He wasn't hopeless at this, after all.

"Congratulations, Dami!" Artemis squealed before wrapping the boy in a hug and planting an affectionate kiss on his cheek. Damian squirmed and protested with an indignant pout before Artemis released him with a giggle.

"Gross, Artemis!" he pouted, wiping away at his cheek fiercely, which only seemed to make her laugh harder.

"Relax, Damian, she's proud of you," Huntress reassured him fondly, kneeling down to his level. "I am too," she added before pecking him on the temple. Damian rolled his eyes with a smirk, but truthfully, he felt a swell of warmth in his chest at the women. He cleared his throat uncomfortably, but did not wipe the kiss away this time.

"Can I practice some more?" he changed the subject, though the rouge on his cheeks still hinted at his sheepish pride and embarrassment.

"Of course," Huntress nodded. "Artemis, dear, can you find another quiver?"

...................................

**(Stephanie)**

_Mermaids Lagoon was always pretty this time of day_ , Stephanie thought; sun setting on the horizon and setting the water ablaze with its dying light. It almost rivaled the way the moon shone like a mirror on the surface during the night, with stars dotting across and making it impossible to tell sky from lake. Scratch what she thought before, Mermaid Lagoon was beautiful at _every_ time of day. She had already been there for about half an hour by herself, waiting patiently for the mermaids to arrive. She didn't mind though; it's not exactly as if she was ever in a hurry, for one thing. For another, it gave her some very rare time to herself, just to _think_. During these times, she would sometimes imagine _herself_ a mermaid, weaving shells into necklaces and doing whatever mermaids do at the bottom of the ocean, and spending time with Cassandra in her aquatic home. She didn't know what it was about the mermaid that mystified her so much, or why she was constantly in her dreams. Cassandra and her fellow maidens had even threatened to kill her the first few nights she had come back around. Stephanie had been smart about it, though, and had always brought them presents (like flowers and feathers, which for some reason enthralled the sea-maidens) and told them stories about how she slayed a pirate or threw the Captain's hand to the Killer Croc of the island. Slowly, over the period of several weeks, the mermaids had finally grown accustomed to her visits and even welcomed her each night she came to see them.

Tim had obviously found out her secret, and Stephanie had to beg him not to tell the others. When Tim asked her why, she had frowned, not quite sure herself. Just...the thought of telling the others about her late night rendezvous with Cassandra to the others seemed.... It wasn't like anything _happened_ ; not like with Dick and Red Arrow, it was just... Cassandra was _Stephanie's_ friend. She didn't get a lot of anything to herself, so now that she had found someone this enthralling, she wanted to keep it private and just for herself. She wasn't exactly sure how to explain that to Tim at the time, but he seemed to understand well enough, for some reason. (She didn't find out why until a few nights later, but that's another story). Regardless, now that Tim knew about Cassandra and the mermaids, she was grateful; at least now she had someone to talk to about it. _  
_

Just as she was about to ponder further into her secrecy, she was torn away (though not unhappily) at the sound of a gentle splash of broken water and the sight of ebony hair and a smooth, pale face peeking above the surface.

"Hey, Cass," Stephanie grinned in awe from her perch on the large, protruding rock. Cass stared up at her with glittering, dark eyes and gorgeous curved lips and glided smoothly toward her.

"Stephanie, my little bird," she hummed lightly in response, lifting just enough out of the water to rest her arms at the base of the rock. Stephanie's heart fluttered madly in her chest, and she scooted herself down to sit cross-legged, level with the mermaid.

"Where are the others?" Stephanie asked, scanning the surface of the water for any other mer-people but finding none. Cassandra flashed a grin and splashed playfully with her stunning silver tail.

"We are alone tonight," she replied proudly. "I wished to have you to myself, so I asked the others not to accompany me." Stephanie's heart skipped a beat and she could have died right there if she hadn't remembered to breathe.

"Really?" she voiced in surprise. "Why would you do that?" Cassandra frowned and tilted her head.

"Do you not wish to spend time with me?"

"No! I mean, _ye_ s, of course I do, Cass," Stephanie stuttered hastily, face turning a bewlidered shade of pink.

"Then what is the problem? I can get the others if you wish," she offered, placing one hand back in the water and half-turning as if to dive below.

"No, Cass, please," Stephanie's eyes widened as she reached to place a panicked hand over the mermaid's remaining, webbed one. Cassandra paused and gazed up at the blonde with a puzzled smile. Stephanie blinked at her and bit her lip shyly (for the first time in her life).

"I... don't want you to go," Stephanie admitted. "Please." Cassandra's grin widened and she nodded, taking her other hand out of the water and placing it over Stephanie's. The blonde's stomach fluttered for a moment as they lingered there, and Cass lifted Stephanie's hand to examine it with dark, interested eyes. Her fingers traced the inside of Stephanie's non-webbed fingers and along the inside of her palm like a feather, making Stephanie fight the urge to shiver. Cassandra glanced up at her instantly.

"Are you cold?" she frowned in confusion. After all, it was a rather warm night, as most were in Neverland. Stephanie laughed and shook her head.

"No. It just tickles is all," she admitted, and Cass smiled and nodded her understanding. Before Stephanie could say anything else, the mermaid released her hand (to Stephanie's disappointment) and then gripped onto rock to pull herself up and out of the water, perching herself to sit down right beside Stephanie. It was like watching a living waterfall as she moved; her hair cascaded down and around her shoulders, and her movements were so flawless and smooth sliding up and out of the water as if she were Elegance made flesh. In this light, even her pale skin and silver, shining fins were practically luminescent under the dying sun. When she was comfortably seated, the mermaid gently pulled her hair back and let it fall to rest behind her shoulders, revealing a beautiful string of a sea-shell necklace resting atop her gorgeous neck. Underneath the necklace, however, laid her absolutely gorgeous, completely exposed chest. Stephanie's breath caught in her throat and she didn't know what to look at, or what to do; after all, she'd never seen another woman's breasts besides her own. In comparison, they were so vastly different that Stephanie was simply struck with admiration. They were fully curved and rounded gorgeously and even her nipples were perfectly proportionate and the exact same color as her rouged, exquisite lips. Stephanie definitely didn't look quite like  _that_ , so she simply found herself staring in perhaps a little jealousy, but most of all, pure awe.

"W-what happened to your, um...clothes?" Stephanie stammered. Cassandra furrowed her dark brows in confusion before a flicker of understanding dawned on her face.

"You mean the seaweed or seashells we usually wear while we're here?" she hummed thoughtfully, to which Steph nodded.

"Silly girl. Those are not clothing like what you land dwellers wear," she laughed at the thought. "We wear those so our skin doesn't dry out while we're above the water. It is...uncomfortable when our skin is- I believe the word is _dry_?," she explained gently. "I can find some if you'd prefer I cover up?"

Stephanie shook her head animatedly. "No, no, it's okay, I just-" she cleared her throat as her cheeks heated up. "I've never seen another woman's...you know," Stephanie gestured to her own chest, which in comparison was rather underdeveloped. Cass arched her brows in surprise.

"I keep forgetting you live with those boys by yourself," she grimaced. The boys weren't something Cassandra usually liked to talk about, so Stephanie simply shrugged.

"I don't mind it; to be honest, I think sometimes they forget I  _am_ a girl," she admitted gloomily. "Sometimes even _I_ do."

"Because you haven't bloomed yet," Cass advised with a soothing smile. "When you grow a little and start to become a woman, I promise it'll be quite obvious." Stephanie cringed at Cassandra's words and a sinking feeling made her gut plummet down into he Lagoon floor.

"But I-...I don't _grow_ ," Stephanie swallowed. "I'm already 14, I can't let myself _grow_ anymore! I-..." she hesitated and bit her lip. "Does that mean, then... I'll never be able to look like you?" she glanced to the mermaid in despair about her age for the first time since she made her vow. Cassandra's expression seemed to sadden as her dark eyes danced over Stephanie's face.

"I myself am not fully grown," she responded slowly, thoughtfully as she tucked a strand of her dark, wet hair behind her pointed ear. "But then again, I do not know if mermaids and land dwellers grow the same." Stephanie swallowed thickly and pondered the statement. Cassandra moved to take her hand and smiled sweetly as she looked up.

"But would you like to know something?" she murmured softly, leaning in closer as if to whisper a secret.

"What?" Stephanie blinked, heart hammering as the moved in to listen curiously. She was so close now that Stephanie could feel Cassandra's cool breath tickling her ear.

"I think you are beautiful, Stephanie, and you don't need to change if you don't want to," she hummed. Stephanie's jaw dropped slightly before splitting into a warm grin and rushing forward to hug the mermaid, even if her skin was still wet. The air rushed out of Cassandra's lungs with a small _oof_ of surprise, but she quickly regained herself and returned the embrace whole-heartedly. They lingered there for a long minute before Stephanie finally pulled away with a coy smile.

"What is it?" Cassandra tilted her head quizzically. Stephanie paused a moment, almost as if in hesitation, before her face smoothed over and a smirk graced her lips.

"What are you doing?" Cass frowned in worry as the blonde stood to her feet.

"You'll see," Stephanie laughed buoyantly before stripping off her homemade shirt and untying the scabbard for the dagger around her waist. Cassandra blinked at her in surprise as Stephanie, now topless as could be and sunkissed from living in the open for so long, grinned and launched herself like a canon into the water, leaving Cass alone on the rock above her. When she surfaced again, the mermaid was laughing.

"Join me for a swim?" Stephanie offered in invitation. Cassandra was still laughing loudly as she dove into the water, splashing Stephanie with her tail as she disappeared from view. It took a few seconds for Cass to resurface, but when she did, it was right in front of Stephanie's face, startling the hell out of her.

"Cass!" Stephanie whined, splashing her as the mermaid continued to giggle.

"Oh, forgive me, I couldn't resist," she grinned before gliding toward the blonde and enveloping her cool, smooth arms. Stephanie sucked in a surprised breath at the touch before deciding that she liked the proximity, and relaxed. She even wrapped her own arms around the mermaid's neck and felt color rise to her cheeks as they pressed their naked skin together and lingered afloat. Stephanie's heart drummed deep inside her chest and Cass lifted her webbed fingers to trace feather-light across her cheek. Stephanie hummed and let her eyes fall closed at the contact. She felt the mermaids fingers trail steadily across the contours of her face and jaw, sighing as a pleasant shiver tingled through her spine. When Cass moved to touch her lips, however, Stephanie gasped lightly and opened her eyes. Cassandra was staring at her and Stephanie's breath caught in her throat. She hadn't understood before what it meant before when she saw Dick locking lips with Red Arrow, but now that Cassandra was holding her and stroking her lips like this as they floated together in the water, she thought that maybe she was starting to get it. She swallowed thickly, just knowing she'd face all levels of hell if the others found out, but she let herself give in to desire as Cass  pressed her lips softly against her own. Just like that, warmth spread throughout her chest and nothing else mattered anymore except the feel of Cassandra's arms around her waist and their lips melting into each other as the sun sunk below the horizon.

When she pulled back, they spared only a moment to stare at each other in awe before Stephanie cupped the blonde's cheek and pulled her right back in for another.

.....................................

**(Jason and Tim)**

Staring at Jason had become one of Tim's most common past-times. Now, young as he was, Tim wasn't _stupid_. In fact, he prided himself because he _knew_ he was actually the smartest of the Robins. That meant that as soon as he even started developing these feeling for Jason, it didn't take him long to figure out that whenever his heart fluttered after Jason smiled at him, or the tug of his stomach when they were close, or the longing ache in his chest when they were apart meant something more than just mere friendship. After Stephanie had whispered to him how she caught Dick pressing Red Arrow into a tree and kissing each other, Tim had started to imagine the same scenario with himself and Jason. It was innocent enough, at first; simple curiosity. But the more he thought about it, the more his breath would catch in his chest and the more that burning tug behind his belly would surface. Some of the physical effects were... hard to hide and made him feel sickeningly guilty any and every time he indulged, so he tried not to think about it often; mainly at night where no one was awake to see him. He didn't want to get caught and shamed, like Dick did, and he _definitely_ didn't want Jay to sneer at him in disgust. The thought of it made Tim's chest ache and whine in the worst way.

But when Stephanie started sneaking out, she caught him lying awake one night and terrified the living hell out of him. It was a few days after their adventure at Mermaid's Lagoon, and after seeing him naked, that was all Tim could think about at night. He had made sure everyone was breathing steadily and well into their sleep before he let his eyes slip closed and let his fantasy bubble up inside him. He had just started to conjure the longing images of Jason's lips, wondering what they might feel like against his lips, or perhaps his jaw, when he heard someone shift and crawl up. He  startled, flinching like lightning and he almost squeaked in terror. Stephanie poked her head up and stared at him in concern. Tim had almost cried in relief; at least it hadn't been Jason. Steph had confronted him, of course, but Tim snapped right back and demanded to know why she had been pulling her shoes on. So that's when she shyly admitted to her strange attraction and late night visits with her mermaids and Tim had to confess his longing to be close to Jason. He didn't explain _every_ detail, but... at least she sort of knew what he was going through. It felt good to have some of that burden lifted off his shoulders.

It came back full force, however, when Jason proposed they spend time alone that afternoon. It was Tim's greatest dream and worst nightmare all at once. After dinner had ended and Dick and Babs took off to see the fairies, that left Tim and Jason sitting alone together on a branch of their tree house as the Neverland sun began to set.

"So," Jason turned to look at the younger with interest. "What's our adventure going to be for the night?" Tim looked over at him and shrugged indifferently with a complacent smile.

"Don't really care. I'm up for anything," he responded with a shrug. Jason scoffed and gently rolled his eyes at the boy.

"Thanks for narrowing it down, Tim, you're very helpful," he joked, elbowing him in good nature. Tim snorted and elbowed him back playfully.

"You know me, always honest," he chuckled back. Jason hummed and furrowed his eyebrows together in a suddenly serious expression.

"Not always," said he. Tim's chest iced over immediately and his eyes went wide. Did he _know_? Had he seen Tim in the night or caught onto the helpless longing vibes whenever Tim was around him? Oh god, was Jay going to disown their friendship?

"W-what? How do you mean?" Tim replied, tone strained behind a forced, dumb smile.

"Tim," he frowned seriously. Tim gulped and tried not to shake as he remembered to breath.

"I know you're the one who hid Dick's pants to embarass him in front of Barbara."

Tim saw stars for a minute after he realized what had come out of Jason's mouth. "Wha- oh, _that_?" he laughed in exasperation. Jason's serious expression split into a magnificent grin as they both burst into laughter.

"Yeah, man, that was _amazing_. Wish I'd thought of it," Jay admitted with a gruff chuckle. Tim beamed, blushing with pride and overwhelming relief.

"Well, _you_ gave me the idea, actually," he explained, to which Jay's eye's widened, obviously surprised and flattered. "Not intentionally, I mean, but..." Tim shrugged with a sheepish grin. "He embarrassed you by making you take your clothes off, so I thought I'd get him back when he least expected it."

Jason placed a hand over his own heart and let his jaw drop in awe. "Oh, Timmy, I'm touched." Tim shrugged happily, rouged pink at the words. "No seriously, I could kiss you," he laughed, yanking Tim close into a tight, one-armed hug. Tim's heart beat took off at the words and left him light headed. He couldn't think of anything to say quick enough without sounding awkward, so all he could manage was a squeaky, nervous laugh as he wiggled out of Jay's embrace.

"Y-yeah, you wish," Tim managed to huff out. "Too bad it's for grown-ups, huh?"

Jay made a face and Tim silently cursed himself and wanted to sink into the tree, never to re-emerge again. He inwardly cringed and whined at himself ' _Wow, that was **super** suave and not at all a neon sign asking to be **laughed** at. Please, Neverland, don't let him suspect!' _

"Grown ups and _Dick_ , apparently," he grumbled, rolling his eyes. Oh. Tim's heart sunk in disappointment, much to his own confusion -he _should_ be relieved, after all- and he contemplated Jason's reply.

"You're still angry at him?" Tim asked curiously, scooting closer to the elder boy. Jason shrugged before meeting Tim's eyes again.

"Yes... _No_. I just-" he rifled a single hand through his hair as he sighed in frustration. Tim frowned deeply in concern and reached out to touch Jay's shoulder gently.

"You can tell me, Jay," he reassured gently. Jay sighed and visibly relaxed under Tim's hand.

"I don't know. It's hard to describe," he admitted. "I just... don't understand why he did it. Dick's _obviously_ not a grown-up, and neither is Red Arrow, so that makes me wonder... _why_ , you know? What's so special about kissing? Why did Dick want to do it?" Tim obviously said nothing, but he reached up and meagerly scratched his chin. He knew what he  _wanted_ to say, but...how could he without giving himself away?

"I mean-" Jay continued with a frustrated countenance, "what makes Dick so special? He thinks he can just start kissing because he's so fucking _cool_ , and he didn't even _tell_ any of us and he didn't even explain _why_ , I just don't _understand_ -" Tim blinked in shock before understanding blinked in his head like a light.

"Jay, are you-" dare he say the word, "um...heh, jealous?" he asked sheepishly. Suddenly, it was Jay's turn to blush and turn pink.

"What?! _No_ ," he denied, obviously lying as his lower lip pouted out in a sulk. In the soft colors of twilight, the last rays of the sun illuminated in just a way that made him so precious and downright _cute,_ and it made Tim's heart skip a beat as he giggled.

"You can't tell Dickface," he murmured in a hushed, pleading voice. Tim shook his head with a sympathetic, almost sad smile.

"Of course not, Jay," he promised. "You're...honestly, not the only one who's wondered what a kiss was like."

Suddenly Jason's expression shifted and he was gazing at Tim really hard in what was either surprise or awe, or both. Tim swallowed thickly and felt his heart yet again stutter and start to race when he realized what opportunity had just presented him.

"Um, we-" he choked, because oh god, this was going to sound really stupid- no, no, _abort_. But Jay arched a brow and waited expectantly for Tim to finish. Oh, boy. " _We_...could kiss, maybe," he murmured softly, shrugging his shoulders in a display of nonchalance and carefully not meeting Jason's eyes.

"Just to _see_ , obviously... what it's like," he explained hurriedly, feeling his cheeks burn against the breeze. Tim dared a teensy look, and saw Jason blink a couple of times as he considered this. Tim gulped silently, heart thudding heavily in what was the most surreal moment of his life.

"Well... Sure, I guess that's okay," Jason agreed with a small nod, green eyes bright and determined in the last bit of daylight. Tim's breath halted in his very lungs, and it took a second, but Tim did eventually remember how to breathe.

"A-are you _sure_?" he whispered, leaning hesitantly closer in excitement. Jay reciprocated the motion and pulled in so close that Tim could feel the warmth of Jay's breath on his skin. The elder boy reached his hand out slowly, experimentally cupping Tim's jaw to all but caress his cheek. It sent shivers through Tim's body. There was a brief pause; a deep breath and a few shuddering heart-beats as they gazed at each other, wide eyed and uncertain. 

A soft expression crossed Jason's features, and his shoulders seemed to relax some as he leaned to close the distance. That's when Tim let his eyes flutter shut as their lips pressed gently, completely together.

Tim released a small breath of pleasure, lifting his own hand to brush against Jay's cheek and into his thick, dark hair. Jason pulled apart for the slightest second to catch his breath, only to pull Tim right back against him for another kiss, this one a bit more fierce and hungry than the last. A small noise escaped Tim's lips, and suddenly he felt hot, as if his blood was burning and heating under his skin. It sent a jolting spark down his spine, and then he was practically scrambling closer until he overlayed into Jay's lap. Jason paused uncertainly at first, but shifted back enough to receive him with a soft, excited pant of breath. Then Jason became the bold one and gripped Tim's hips, stroking them experimentally while they lip-locked. Tim shivered and bit Jay's lip by accident, which made both of them gasp.

"Sorry!" Tim sucked in a panicked breath, but Jay squeezed Tim's hips and _growled_ as he snared Tim's lips back once again. Jason's tongue flitted briefly between them over the spot where Tim's teeth had grazed, which just so happened to trail against the part of Tim's lips, and suddenly he could  _taste_ the older boy.

An embarrassing noise escaped Tim's lips; one that he'd never heard himself make before that could only be described as a sort of ethereal  _whine_ , and his body reacted by twitching and keening against Jason's abdomen, making him shudder at the sudden, aching pressure tightening in his muscles. And what's more, he could feel Jason, too.  _All_ of Jason, with every mind-melting movement.

" _God_ ," Jason gasped, suddenly clinging tensely to Tim's back. Tim could feel Jason's fingers trembling, and he arched mindlessly against Jason's body, closing his eyes in the thundering sea of madness and pleasure roaring inside him.

"Jay-" he whispered desperately in turn, running his fingers through the boy's hair like he'd longed to do for so long and pecking soft, needy kisses all around the other's lips and cheeks. It was driving Tim crazy, this strange heat inside him, as well as the way his muscles contracted in his core with every little touch. Jason's body started stuttering and twitching underneath him in response.

However, he heard a noise of distress, of all things, coming from Jason's lips, and the weight of the boy's hands dropped away from him with such a suddenness that it made Tim crack his eyes open in alarm. 

"J-...Jason?" he swallowed uncertainly, finding his throat oddly dry as Jason's breathing lilted irregularly fast.

Jason's green eyes were wide, staring at Tim in possible confusion and...what looked like... _panic_. Another worrisome, shaky noise escaped him, and Tim suddenly pulled back completely, startled and gasping for breath. 

Jason matched Tim's movements and scrambled out from underneath, pushing against Tim's legs to get him off. Tim obliged him quickly, although he was unable to help his very breath hitching painfully in his chest.

"Jason, please," Tim choked, reaching an arm halfway out as if to touch the boy, but Jason flinched. Tim's eyes began to sting as he slowly regained the ability to draw in ragged breaths.

Jay's face was strained. He wasn't looking at Tim... wouldn't or simply _couldn't_  meet his eyes. For all intents and purposes, Jason may as well have been a statue, motionless as he was.

"I'm  _sorry_ ," Tim wheezed out as a hot tear slid involuntarily down his pale cheek. "Jay, I'm so  _sorry_. Please, please,  _look_ at me. Talk to me," he trembled. It took a moment, but Jason seemed to stir at Tim's words, finally dragging his eyes up to meet Tim's

"I-..." Jason began sluggishly, but shook his head. "I- That was... it's too much," he whispered. Tim's heart sunk like an anchor, making him sick. He sat frozen, waiting for something, _anything_ more from Jay.

"I need to...get out of here," Jason struggled, turning away blindly.

"Jay, _no_ ," Tim choked out, reaching up at him, pleading. Jason stiffened, but otherwise simply ignored him.

"I... I just need to _think_ , I've got to go," Jason spurted, leaping off the branch and tearing off madly, leaving Tim behind in confusion and complete and utter devastation. Tim's arm fall lifelessly to his side. What had he _done_? He buried his face into his hands and choked helplessly. He'd just ruined _everything_.

 

..............................

**(Dick and Barbara)**

"You ready?" Dick grinned, offering his hand for Barbara to take. She furrowed her brows at him and Dick sighed as he had to explain. "It's easier to get to the fairies if we fly; if we hike, we won't get there until morning."

"Oh," said Barbara uncertainly. She bit her lip in hesitation and brushed a strand of hair gingerly behind her ear."What if I fall?" Dick snorted at that and clasped her hand reassuringly.

"Like I'd let that happen," he clucked his tongue disapprovingly before pulling her in close and whispering, "Grab onto me and don't let go." Barbara barely had time to gasp before Dick literally swept her off her feet (show off that he was) and carried her out into the open air to take off. She screamed in terror as Dick lifted weightlessly into the air, and Dick laughed as her grip tightened into steel around his neck.

"Relax, Barbs," he called through the roar of the wind as he climbed higher and higher into Neverland's sky until the whole island lay sprawled underneath them. "Go on, take a look around!" he insisted. Barbara shivered before she found the courage to peak down; she gasped in awe as she saw for the first time the beauty of the entire island. Dick grinned as he watched her, jaw agape and eyes wide with wonder. He wanted to say something, but he just... didn't have it in him to tear her gaze away, even his impatience began to nag at the back of his mind.

"Isn't it _beautiful_ ," Barbara whispered. Dick's expression softened as he saw the wonder he felt every day written on her face. Even if her hair was haywire because of the wind and she still had an ironclad grip on him, he couldn't help but find her endearing.

"Yes," Dick agreed. "You are." Barbara turned to stare at him in shock, but before things could get awkward, Dick chose to skip the whole scene and immediately set forth toward fairy meadow. Barbara yelped in surprise and fastened tightly around Dick's torso (which Dick _really_ enjoyed) as they started to descend. Just for kicks, Dick even performed a spiral dive and laughed as they twirled through the air. Even Barbara, who was exasperated and terrified, laughed in his ear.

"Just wait until _you_ can fly like this," Dick chuckled, slowing and eventually floating to a gentle stop down in the middle of the woods. Barbara trembled for a moment before squirming for Dick (to his disappointment) to let her down. He dropped her legs and pressed his hand to the small of her back to help keep her steady.He was thrilled when she didn't immediately pull away.

"Mm-hmm, so..." she cleared her throat with a mild blush, "Where are the fairies?" Dick slid around to her front with a charming smile and winked.

"Follow me," he instructed, turning to start walking further into the trees. Barbara began to tread after him before he stopping abruptly and turned right back around.

"But first," he whispered, pressing his forefinger against his lips in the universal sign for silence, "Gotta be quiet; you're new to them, so you might scare them off. Let me introduce them to you before anything else." Barbara frowned in disappointment, but nodded. Dick smiled in relief and turned back to lead her once again through the woods. When they approached the meadow, Barbara's first thought was that there were millions and millions of _fireflies_. But when she realized, as one particular orange and red one approached Dick, that they were humanoid, she sucked in a loud, astonished breath. Dick grinned at her from her side before the little orange fairy nuzzled against his cheek and dropped to stand on his shoulder.

"Hey, Star," Dick greeted cheerily. "No, the others aren't with me this time. I came here 'cause I'd like you to meet someone." The little fairy flickered sporadically (and Barbara's eyes widened when she realized the pixie was _talking_ to him) and Dick turned to face Barbara.

"Barbara, this is Starfire, _princess_ of the fairies," he began. "Starfire, meet my friend Barbara."

"H-hi," Barbara chuckled nervously. Starfire zoomed toward her and Barbara, startled, jumped back. The little fairy crossed her arms and frowned at her, looking her up and down. She flicked to her right side and tugged a strand of her hair painfully.

"Ow, hey!" Barbara cried out. Dick gasped at Star's incessant jingling and moved to swipe the fairy away from her.

"Star, what are you- _yes_ , she has red hair, too, but you don't have to _pull_ it-" Dick paused as Star fluttered and chirped at him madly. "No, she's not _replacing_ you, you're still my favorite girl," he insisted, flashing apologetic eyes toward Barbara, who chewed the inside of her cheek sullenly at the exchange. The fairy jingled once and Dick sighed at her. "Well don't apologize to _me_ ," he insisted. The fairy turned back toward Barbara and approached much more slowly this time. She jingled half-heartedly in front of her and Barbara blinked.

"What's she saying?" Barbara asked Dick awkwardly for translation. Dick's eyes popped in surprise.

"You can't hear her?" he questioned. Barbara shook her head in sorrow. Starfire jingled again and flew back to Dick to buzz around his head.

"Well, she _tried_ to apologize," Dick squinted at the pixie scoldingly. "Even _if_ it was a bad apology." The fairy shrugged indifferently and Barbara huffed a laugh. "She also says if you're my friend, you're welcome here by her standards." Starfire suddenly burst into mad little spurts of light and Dick scoffed. "You might as well, have! I'm not telling her what you said word for word!" he argued. Barbara guffawed in complete, baffled astonishment. Why didn't the pixie like her?

"Oh, go on, then" Dick sighed. "I'll bring the others around soon. Thank you for your time," he murmured to the little princess, who sputtered one more time before floating away to join some of her friends. Once she left, Dick squirmed and bit his cheek in shame as he walked back over toward Barbara.

"So that didn't go as well as I'd hoped," he admitted, scratching his head. Barbara laughed and shrugged indifferently.

"So one fairy doesn't like me; that's okay," Barbara smiled soothingly. It sucked, and it stung her ego that she was rejected by a little imp, but she could be civilized about it... at least more than the fairy had been. "It's still beautiful here," she observed as thousands of colorful pixies danced around their heads, "and I'm still glad you brought me." Dick smiled brightly in relief at her answer. Barbara couldn't help but smile, too; the boy's grin was infectious.

"Well, while we're here," Dick straightened and extended his hand politely."Would you care to dance with me?" Barbara nodded and grinned as she took his hand. He pulled her close and grabbed her waist, and she rested her right hand in his and her left on his shoulder as they began to sway and step aimlessly among the twinkling pixies. Dick smiled at her warmly in the light and something about his smile made Barbara's heart flutter in her chest.

"You know... Neverland really isn't all that bad, I think," she admitted to him, resting her head against his chest. She could hear him draw in a shaky, excited breath.

"You think so?" he hummed back, stroking her flaming hair in admiration. She closed her eyes, breathing in the smell of him -like trees and wild fruit- and nodded against him. "Definitely; it's a home away from home." Dick squeezed his arms around her in elation as they twirled. She giggled as she clumsily missed a step, so Dick Grayson -show off that he is- lifted her and slid his feet under hers to guide her seemlessly across their dance floor. Then Dick decided to try something bold and lifted off the ground, and had her slow dancing with him in the air with the fairies floating all around them. She gasped in wonder (and perhaps a little bit in fear, but that dissapated quickly when Dick's arms fastened around her securely).

"Home away from home, eh?" he continued their conversation. Barbara hummed happily in confirmation and looked up at him with nothing short of fond adoration. God, that smile of his, tonight... it made his blue eyes sparkle and it was completely infectious.

"Does that mean...you'll stay here?" he nuzzled her, whispering into her ear. "With me?"

Barbara bit her lip as Dick spun them around, and when she finally looked up at him, Dick's smile fell and they stopped moving. "But... _why_?" he asked, tone shattered and blue eyes heart-broken. Barbara sighed uncomfortably and Dick sank slowly back down to the ground.

"I miss my father and mother," she admitted after a strained moment. "And Neverland is wonderful, it truly is," she rushed to say before Dick could interrupt. "I love it here, and-" she paused before tilting his chin up so he would look at her again. "Dick... I love _you_." His hurt melted away into shock, and for once, the golden child was completely speechless.

"I-... I've been meaning to bring this up eventually, but...I didn't want you to get angry," she admitted, biting her lip and casting her eyes away nervously before regaining her resolve. "Dick, I...I want you and the lost boys to come back with me." Dick stopped breathing right then and there, and in that moment, it was as if time on Neverland froze over.

"You'd have a _home_ ," she rushed in, almost pleading with him and he stared wide-eyed in horror or shock or both. "You all would; you'd have a family that loves you, you'd have civilization again, you'd have the wonders of the _world_. You'd...have _me_ ," she threaded their fingers together and tilted her head up at him pleadingly.

"...I-" Dick struggled, furrowing his brows. "Barbs...Neverland _is_ my home," he stated weakly. "The Robins are my _family_. I don't need your world or its wonders or its pain, I don't want to grow up in it!" he backed away, clearly upset. Barbara had tears welling up in her eyes now.

"Growing up is always hard, Dick, but... it's also very _good_ ," Dick scoffed coldly at this and turned away. "It helps us understand things like brotherhood, compassion and kindness and... _love_ ," she implored helplessly. "It's hard and painful sometimes, but it only makes the good times sweeter and more beautiful! We may not live forever, but we still leave a mark on the world, and if we have children, _they'll_ leave a mark on the world and so on and so forth with their children and their children's children! The world changes and lives on and... _grows_ ," she cried, tears rolling down her face. "And it's the most beautiful thing, Dick. And to be apart of it is _priceless_. But..." she hesitated now as she stepped closer to the acrobat. "It would mean so much more if you came with me. I've never met anyone else like you, Dick. You've showed me what it is to feel _free_ again." Dick swallowed thickly at her words and squeezed his eyes shut.

"You're the most kind, caring girl I've ever met, Barbara," he finally spoke after several minutes. He stepped forward and reluctantly opened his eyes to gaze down at her. "You've taught me so many wonderful things, it's just-" he gulped and frowned. "I love you... I do, so much. But I love _Neverland_ , too. And what if my Robins didn't want to come? I- I couldn't leave without them," he shook his head vehemently.

"I-...I don't know if I want to die, either," he added uncertainly. Barbara's eyes softened and she reached out to caress Dick's cheek.

"No one does," she replied gently. "But don't be afraid of dying; it only makes living so much more precious." Dick hummed thoughtfully at that and shrugged.

"I-...I need time to think about it, okay?" he grimaced, reaching up to hold her wrist. "I'll have to ask the lost boys, too," he sighed in defeat. "But understand that if they won't go, I can't... _won't_ leave them."

"I understand, Dick," Barbara muttered softly, sadly even. His heart ached for her and he closed his eyes again to stop seeing her sympathetic face. He quickly opened them again, however, when he felt her lips brush gently against his. He wrapped his arms around her and genuinely returned her kiss. The lost boys could kiss his ass about this one, he decided with a smile.

When Barbara pulled away, Dick hummed dreamily and Barbara smiled. "Come on, boy, are you going to take me flying or what?" Dick laughed and shook his head at the girl in exasperation, full Robin attitude returning and flooding his veins once more.

"Let's go then, if you're so impatient," he chortled. "The fairies have been raining enough dust on you to last a month, so think a happy thought and let's fly!"

"Oh, I have one, alright," she promised before lifting off the ground, slowly at first, but then racing up and away -fear of heights be damned- leaving Dick and his astonished face in her dust.

"Cheater!" he called, racing behind her. Her laugh could be heard for miles.


	6. Mending the Fence

"Can you pass me a blade, Steph? I need to cut some of these mushrooms up for Barbara," Tim called out to his friend who, at the moment, was sprawled in a corner clear across their little, wooden den. She tilted her head up at him and wrinkled her nose in disdain.

"No way, shrimp; ask Jason, he's way closer," she responded, bemused at the boy. Tim bit his cheek, wincing at the suggestion as he stole a reluctant peek at the named volunteer. Jason, however, did not return his glance, or even display any interest in their conversation, as he was very deeply immersed in carving a wooden pan-flute.

Stephanie sighed at his helplessness and even Dick, who was rinsing off some wild berries in a bucket on the other side of Jay, furrowed his brows in concern. If Damian and Barbara would've been there, they would probably have made faces as well, but they were out gathering more food for the moment, leaving the blonde and the eldest to exchange grim glances with each other. Both of them, once again, had to decide  whether or not to ask or keep their mouths shut. It was no secret that Jay and Tim had a falling out; when everyone returned to the tree house, Tim was curled up alone in his (and what  _used_   to be Jay's, too) usual sleeping corner. When they tried to ask what was wrong, Tim would only shake his head and refuse to look at them. When asked where on earth Jason was, Tim would only shrug briskly and just stop responding at all. Asking Jay about it later didn't turn out much better, either. In fact, Jay was overly chipper and talkative and had made a point to pry and keep them talking about their own adventures that night, while avoiding his own completely. When Dick finally had enough beating around the bush, he cornered Jay in front of everybody and flat out asked him where he'd been. Jay, of course, shrugged him off and mumbled something about going to Skull Rock and that was that. After that, Jason suddenly started sleeping by the tree's entrance instead of in the back corner for the first time that any of them had known him. That had raised all of their brows in shock except two: Barbara, who didn't know the relevance, and Tim of course, who knew exactly why but kept his back to them all that night and every night after and couldn't be made to talk.

"Alright, I'll say it," Stephanie broke the stiff silence, throwing her hands up as if she were the one defeated in this situation. "You guys just need to _talk_ already," she exclaimed, crossing her arms to further emphasize not just her own, but the whole group's dismay at them. This time, Jason seemed to be paying attention, because he suddenly froze, blade pressed still against his half-finished flute. Tim swallowed thickly and trembled for a half-breath before deadpanning and standing blankly to his feet.

"Nevermind," he replied back in a forced cheery tone at her, completely ignoring her outburst. "I'll get it myself," he continued, treading past Jason and Stephanie both in order to grab a stray dagger left on their stump-turned dinner-table. The sound of metal intently scraping wood could be heard once more as Jason returned to his own task, vehemently ignoring the rest of them now. Stephanie growled in frustration and Dick, who had remained silent, chose this moment to speak up as well.

"Guys, please," he insisted, straightening up and letting the berries in his hand fall unceremoniously back into the bowl. Jason continued his work, not giving any indication that he'd even heard his leader and Tim... well, he hesitated and lingered with his blade in hand half-way back to his mushrooms.

"It's not the same without you guys being-..." he frowned, trying to figure out exactly what the two had been before. "I don't know, without you being close like you where," he admitted. "The whole group dynamic is just...off. We _miss_ you guys; we all wish you would at least _talk_ to each other if you won't talk to any of us," he implored further. Tim cast his eyes down guiltily, stomach plummeting completely through the floor. The whole group dynamic was _ruined_...because of what he did? He felt his throat well up painfully and he fought to hold in a pathetic whimper. Jay's whittling could still be heard, but it had slowed somewhat; clearly the boy was at least in thought from Dick's words. Tim started shaking where he stood, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't stop the blade in his hand from tremoring. It shook so vehemently that, after a moment, it just slipped completely from his hand and clattered noisily to the ground. Suddenly all eyes, even Jay's sea green ones, were zeroed in on him. God, Tim just wanted to melt away and never be seen again, he couldn't handle this. All the attention, all the guilt and loneliness, all the putting on a brave face and trying to ignore Jason just as much as Jason was ignoring him and utterly, miserably, _failing._ The more they stared at him, the more he quickly became overwhelmed and his eyes started to water and burn in his humiliation.

"I- Just leave me _alone_ ," he cried out, throwing his hands up to cover his face in shame, choking out a muffled sob as he bolted out the door. Jason, Dick and Stephanie were left behind, staring motionlessly at each other in shock.

"Did...that just happen?" Stephanie whispered in disbelief. Dick's jaw was agape and all he could do was shrug helplessly. Stephanie clucked her tongue at him, clearly unimpressed, before turning to Jay, who sat frozen in place.

"The hell happened to you two?" she sputtered angrily at him, jerking him instantly out of his shock. "I don't care what happened between you, you need to talk to him. _N_ _ow_ ," she barked, leaping to her feet and pointing lividly to the doorway after Tim. Jason drew back defensively and sneered with utter indignance at his fellow Robins.

"Butt out, Stephanie, this is none of your damn business!" he retorted, letting the unfinished flute slide from his hands as he stood up to stare her down. Stephanie was definitely not intimidated. Or she didn't back down at least.

"Guys, _stop_ ," Dick demanded, stepping between them, hands pressed to both of their chests as he tried to push them apart.

"Shut up, Dick!" they both snapped at him, brushing his arms away in annoyance before turning back to each other.

"Jason, you _idiot_ , he cares so much about you that it's sickening! I don't know what was said between you, but can't you see how much you're _hurting_ him?" Stephanie shouted hysterically, arms gesturing wildly with every word in attempt to express her exasperation. Jason recoiled at her words.

"I never meant to hurt him, I just needed some time to my damn _self_ for a while!" Jay retorted in a steely voice. "What happened between us is none of your business, _any_ of you," he added for Dick's benefit, who looked hurt at the physical and verbal exclusion. Jay turned away, ignoring the boy's infamous puppy eyes in favor of shouting more at Stephanie. Before he could, however, Stephanie was already firing back in retaliation.

"We're supposed to be a _team_ , we're supposed to be there for each other, that's what the Robins are _about_ ," she growled -yes, actually _growled_ \- in frustration. "Or maybe you don't remember that?" she challenged. Jay rolled his eyes at her and scoffed.

"Don't lecture me about being a Robin, I've been one longer than _you_ ," he reminded her haughtily. "And what does that even matter? This is between me and _Tim_ , and that's how it needs to be worked out, okay? So just... _leave it be_!"

"Jason," Dick shook his head and cut in gently, causing both the younger Robins to snap their gazes to him, both wildly on edge. Jason was especially distraught, eyes wide with bitterness and distrust; he didn't like being ganged up on, and defending himself and his actions to them was stupid and exhausting and they shouldn't even be involved in the first place.

"Jason, you're right. I get it okay?" the words made Jason's brow arch in shock. Dick looked tired as their eyes met, and the smile that was usually on his golden face was long gone and replaced with a look Jason had never seen before. "You two should work it out by yourselves if it's that personal. It's just...it kills the rest of us to see you both ignoring each other, and so strained and lonely," he explained. Jason took a long breath and sighed; he even felt his blood pressure, which had spiked before at Stephanie's words, slowly started to climb down as he considered Dick's meaning.

"Besides," Dick added, almost as an afterthought, drawing Jason's gaze back up warily. "Don't you miss him at all?"

Now at _that_ , Jason felt a twinge of guilt in his heart. His eyes fell to the floor and all the fight left him in an instant. He didn't like the way Tim curled in on himself miserably or put on a fake smile for the past few days even though his eyes were so... _empty_. He wanted to talk to Tim before, he really did, it's just...with everyone around constantly badgering the two of them and breathing down their necks, it was hard to get some much needed privacy. He didn't exactly know what he'd say anyway. But yeah... god, he missed Tim. Stephanie gazed at the two of them grimly, raising an inquisitive eyebrow at Dick. Dick shrugged at her expression and turned back to Jay, all sympathy.

"Go talk to him, Jay," he insisted, placing an encouraging hand on Jason's shoulder. "You'll both feel so much better when you do. Hell," he chuckled. "We all will." Jason almost managed to crack a smile at that one; leave it to Dick. With a sigh of resignation, he nodded at the elder boy and felt his feet leave the floor of their den as he prepared to fly off after Tim.

"I, um-" he hesitated just before he reached the door. His face twisted for a moment before smoothing out and shaking his head. "Eh, forget it. I'll be back," he called out before, finally, at _last_ , going out after Tim.

Once he was gone, Stephanie turned to Dick, obviously puzzled, and squinted her eyes at him suspiciously.

"How did you do that?" she demanded in awe. Dick shrugged half-heartedly at her.

"Dunno..." he admitted. "I kind of just asked myself...what would Barbara do?" Stephanie stared at him for a long time after that.

.......................................

 Tears were streaming down Tim's face as he flew blindly through the woods. He didn't know where he was going, nor did he care at the moment. He wanted to run far, far away from Jay- from _all_ of them. He was aching inside, it felt like he was hollow.

After what happened, Tim kept replaying the kisses inside his head over and over again, and kept imagining things he could have done or said differently. He should have just stopped at one kiss and not have been so carried away. He should have asked Jay if he was okay or asked to move forward, he could have- Tim choked on a sob and just managed to dodge a stray branch before hitting it in his wild hurry.

He should never have kissed Jay at all. Jason had been right, kissing was for _grown ups_, what had he been thinking?! Tim silently cursed himself for what seems like the hundred thousandth time. Why did he even want to kiss in the first place? He was breaking his vows to Neverland by doing adult stuff, wasn't he? What if he had been too old when he made the vow? What if he had already started to grow up at the time? Tim gasped at the thought and faltered slightly in his flight. He was the smartest, after all... what if that meant he developed faster than the others? Oh, no... this was all his fault! Terror flooded his heart, on top of all the guilt and devastation. He'd give anything to take it back,now. He'd do anything just to go back and have his best friend again. Without Jason, he was truly lost, and not in the Lost Boy way. He was alone... and knowing that fact, he never realized just how bleak everything really was; the forest was just a little less green and the sky was a little less blue... the songs of the birds were just noise and even the distant twinkling of the fairy lights glowed dull. There was nothing here for him without Jason. Not even the Robins, because they're just a painful reminder. Maybe he should just leave; fly away and keep flying forever. The thought was sorely tempting. He found himself drifting further and further toward the edge of the island, even, until he crossed over the water and just kept going.

His heart throbbed in his chest and he sniffled as more tears flooded his cheeks. Even though he was flying, this was the heaviest he'd ever felt. In fact-  _"Oh!"_ he panicked, realizing too late that he was quickly losing altitude. He didn't have any happy thoughts anymore. He- he couldn't _fly_.

"N-no, _Jay_!" he shrieked as he fell into a free fall over the ocean. He couldn't swim well; he'd never liked it much, to be honest, and he was afraid of the mermaids, too. So when he finally crashed and sunk underneath the water, it was cold and it _hurt_ , and he was frozen for a fraction of a second before he started to thrash in a wild panic. His skin stung from the impact, but not as much as his lungs did as he finally found his way back to the surface to gasp for breath. He was shivering; it was colder than he expected this far away from the island. The green mountain of Neverland was still clearly visible, but when he realized just how far he'd actually flown-...well, when he had to swim it, it was a lot farther than he expected. He felt tears sting his eyes again and he wept helplessly. He'd never get there...he'd collapse or be drowned by any mermaids who happened to notice him before he made it halfway. Damn himself for relying too much on flight, damn himself for flying too far out! He was stupid, stupid, _stupid_!

Water splashed around him and he tread helplessly. He had to do something... _anything_. He struggled to turn in the water looking for anything to grab onto; he'd even take the pirate ship at this point, but the Jolly Roger was unfortunately nowhere in sight. But Skull Rock however, _was_. He gasped when he saw it; after all, Tim had only been there a handful of times. It was a spooky place plagued by death from unfortunate pirate victims that he liked to avoid generally, but at the moment, it was his only chance to avoid certain death. It wasn't far- well, not as far as the island anyway, and Tim made a desperate dash trying to swim over there. It took near ten minutes to reach the wall of stone, and another few to work his way into the entrance through the mouth of the cave. Finally, however, he finally reached the dock and managed to pull himself up and flop onto the wood with burning muscles all over his body. Now he was physically _and_ emotionally exhausted. Great.

He closed his eyes , shivering against the breeze as he curled against it. God, what he'd do to be in his and Jay's corner at the tree house, huddled under every blanket they had in the place while comforted by the glow of a warm, cozy fire and the heat of Jason's body sleeping next to him. Actually, nevermind; the thought purged whatever breath Tim previously managed to suck into his lungs, so it was back to the freezing dock inside the cave with the decayed skeletons chained up across from him as his only company. This time, the shiver wasn't because of the cold; damn spooky place. Tim managed to swallow thickly and pull himself sluggishly to his feet; he was thirsty now, and more than a little hungry as well. He'd wasted so much energy trying to save his life that he forgot he would be stuck here and probably die anyway. He'd just have to die slower, now. His stomach gurgled painfully and he whined, clutching it pathetically. The way the waves made the skeletons creak and clack, it was almost like they were laughing at him.

"Oh, shut it, you," he snapped miserably at them. They just clacked more inside the waves and Tim gave up on his conversation and stalked away. After the one, rickety dock, there was nothing of value in the place. It was dark, damp and covered with debris like nets and old canon fodder and some creepy looking shadows. Maybe he could come back as a ghost and haunt the place, since he was stuck to die here anyway. Then he really wouldn't grow up, he thought to himself bitterly, crossing his arms against another chilly breeze. He sighed and chose to sink down against the stone wall and sink to the floor. At least it was quiet here. It was nice, for once... though maybe just a tad bit unnerving.

There was a sudden squelching noise down by the docks, however, that made his eyes shoot open -he didn't realize he had started to doze off- and he squeaked in surprise and maybe a little bit of terror.

"Tim?" a voice called out after having heard him. Tim sucked in a startled breath and stayed sitting frozen behind a large pile of rocks. He'd recognize that voice anywhere, of course, but-

" _Tim_?!" he called again, worry staining his tone undeniably. Tim peaked above the rocks and blinked in disbelief when Jay, windblown and wide-eyed, stood perched on the edge of the dock, scanning all around...searching for _him_.

But why? His heart slammed erratically in his chest and he tried to keep his breathing under control so Jason wouldn't hear him. Did he even want Jason to find him? It's probably better than starving to death, he had to remind himself. But then, if Jay was only here to tell Tim he didn't want anything to do with him anymore, then he'd take starving any day. Jay just stood there though, for a long time, waiting and listening. It had to have been several minutes before Jason sighed and turned around to leave in defeat, probably thinking he imagined the squeak. Tim's breath caught in fear; he didn't want Jason to go, he wanted to be near him again, to hear what he had to say. He needed to be rescued, too, otherwise he really would die here. He really hoped whatever Jay wanted to talk to him about, it was good...otherwise, when Jay helped him back, it'd be really really awkward.

"Wait," he called out quietly, popping his head out above the safety of his rock just before Jason took off. He froze, of course, before whipping around spotting where Tim was and flying up to meet him. Tim swallowed anxiously and cast his eyes away.

Thank Neverland I found you," Jason sighed in relief as he landed gracefully beside Tim. "I looked _everywhere_ on the island for you, I didn't think you'd ever come here." Tim still did not meet the boy's eyes as he shrugged.

"Didn't do it on purpose," he mumbled. Jason tilted his head with a frown.

"What do you mean 'not on purpose'?" he replied in genuine confusion. Tim caught a glimpse of his expression and felt that familiar ache in his chest that he always got looking at his lovely face lately. Those bright eyes were boring into him, now, expecting an explanation. Tim winced and debated whether or not to explain his humiliation.

"I was flying," he begain reluctantly. "Flew too far offshore, then...lost all my happy thoughts," he grumbled in shame. "I swam the rest of the way here."

"You did _what_?" Jason retorted in alarm. Tim's eyes widened at the unexpected volume change, and Jay bit his lip apologetically when he realized he startled the boy.

"I mean- I know you can't swim well, and you just... worried me for a second," he admitted, kneeling down beside Tim -closer than they had been in almost a week- and making Tim flinch. Jason froze briefly again before realizing and backing away just enough to give Tim breathing room. Tim's face fell again and he turned away. Ah...back to this.

"Why are you here?" he forced himself to ask. Jason chose to sit down fully beside him and cross his legs before answering.

"We really need to talk," he started, causing Tim to snort softly. Jason squinted at him in concern. "What's so funny?"

"Don't bother; I know what you're gonna say," he replied sadly. Jason's lips twisted into that crooked smirk and he crossed his arms, to Tim's surprise.

"Oh yeah?" he hummed in amusement, putting Tim a bit more at ease. Maybe they could still salvage their friendship, at least. "What am I gonna say, then?" Tim mentally grimaced as he braced himself.

"What we did was wrong... I pushed you into doing something you didn't wanna do," he started off reluctantly, biting his lip. Jay's face darkened a bit and Tim started to shake with worry. "Something that's for _grown ups_. I-I won't do it again, I swear," he promised desperately, standing up on his knees and looking Jay in his eyes. Jason, to his unnerving dismay, had a perfect poker face. "If something's wrong with me, I'll fix it, I just-" Tim was welling up again and trying his very best not to get overwhelmed. "You're my best friend, Jay. Please don't hate me," he begged. " _I don't want to lose you_."

Jason blinked at him, expressionless only for a moment before his challenging facade melted away and a warm, almost sad smile spread in it's place before Tim was pulled into an equally warm embrace. The chill he didn't know he'd been getting all but evaporated and he cuddled closer to stop the shivering. Jason frowned and pulled him almost completely into his lap to embrace him more fully.

"Okay first off, you're freezing," he muttered, pressing his lips against Tim's pale cheek. Tim shivered, but didn't deny it; he was just thrilled to be in Jason's arms. "Second of all, I _liked_ kissing you. I-...it was the best-...the most-" he paused, furrowing his brows as he searched for the right words. "- _intense_ thing I'd ever felt. I didn't... really, fully understand what happened to me. I _still_ dont," he admitted, voice dropping to a quiet whisper. Tim gasped lightly at the admission and his blood began to warm underneath his skin. Jason traced light circles into Tim's arm as he spoke, and Tim was curled motionless and wide eyed against him, just listening.

"I think...maybe, tough, I'd like to try again," he hummed softly. Tim almost forgot how to breathe at this point.

"In fact," Jason smiled, moving his hand up to Tim's chin and tilting it up at a gentle angle. Tim's heart thudded madly in his chest and he stilled, clutching Jason's arm as the boy gently brushed their lips together in a single, gently controlled motion. After a moment, Jason pulled back with a soft sigh, and pressed their foreheads together instead in an affectionate display.

"I, um. I'd like to...start off slow," Jason admitted hesitantly. "Small stuff like  _this_ , you know?" he added before falling into a thoughtful silence.

" _Yes_ , of course," Tim breathed, blinking in amazement and disbelief. "B-...but aren't you worried about-" Tim shook his head, trying desperately to clear it enough to speak. "You know...the _grown up_ thing?" he gulped, carefully watching every twitch of every muscle in Jason's face to make sure he didn't get upset or want run again. Jason grimaced and released a long breath.

"I've been thinking about that," Jason replied slowly, furrowing his brows. "I mean...Dick didn't seem to mind doing it, and he and Red Arrow are pretty good friends, and all," he reasoned. "Maybe kissing doesn't have to be _just_ for grown ups?" Tim laughed and tightened into a hug around Jason's shoulders.

"We'll keep it just between _us,_ though?" Tim arched a brow up at Jay. The older boy leaned down to press one last, lingering kiss against his lips with a tender smile.

"Yeah. That's just for you and me, Tim," he promised, earning the brightest smile Tim ever worn in his entire life.

"Come on, let's head home, then," Jason grinned, maneuvering to stand up and help Tim to his feet. "And maybe get you into some dry clothes, _jeez_ ," he laughed, taking his hand and leading him toward the dock.

"Yeah, I'd love that," Tim admitted joyfully. "I'll race you!" he laughed, running forward to the end of the dock and flying blissfully- yes, _flying_ once again- out of the cave and into the sky.


	7. Winter Tales

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time for Dick and Barbara to confront the inevitable and make a decision. Barbara's memories of her home haunts her and Dick doesn't want her to go, so they come to terms with it the best way they can.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again, friends! I hope you like this update, things are coming to a boil for our babies. Would anyone like to volunteer to be my beta reader? I've got tons of ideas that I want to incorporate and I need someone to be my soundboard and keep me accountable for the flow of the story in its grammar and plot continuity. If you'd be interested, please message me in the comments below! :)

Time had passed easily after Tim and Jason mended their friendship; the group had clapped with glee when they returned to the tree house laughing together, and the general happiness and peace of the Robins returned to normal for the last few weeks. At least on the surface, anyway. Dick would sometimes lay awake at night in an uneasy bridge between sleep and consciousness just... contemplating things. Tonight was, unfortunately, one of those nights.

The woman lying next to him -yes, a young _woman_...there was no denying it, that's what she was and wanted to keep growing up to be- was fast asleep, as were the younger members of the group. Barbara's hair wrapped around her in a messy halo and he couldn't help but think she resembled a ginger angel. As he gazed at her, however, discomfort bubbled in his belly and he had to turn away. By not looking at her, however, there were only so many other places to look; Tim and Jason were curled together as usual by the farthest wall, Stephanie's silhouette languidly stretched out opposite from him and Barbara, and Damian slouched over in the adjacent corner that Barbara used for storytelling. His face pressed and twisted comically against the wood, since he had fallen asleep in that position and no one had the heart to move him. Dick smiled fondly at the youngest as he recalled Barbara's tale of the night: Tarzan the Ape-Man. Damian in particular had appreciated this one, and so did Dick -although his previous favorite had been Beauty and the Beast- because who wouldn't enjoy a tale about a strong young lad having adventures as king of the jungle with wild animals at his back? Barbara sure knew how to paint a picture when she spoke. Listening to her was wonderful and simply... well, _mesmerizing_. She sometimes even acted the stories out, gesturing wildly or dancing with him when Belle and the Beast had a ball while Lumiere, Cogsworth, Mrs. Potts and Chip (Jason, Tim, Steph and Damian) giggled at them. Tonight was calmer by comparison, simply snuggling into her story-nook and wrapping her arms around little Damian while the rest watched on. Her words were lilted with what could only be called  _magic_ , and lulled them sweetly until the youngest Robins fell asleep one by one. Dick had stayed awake until the end, however, right until Jane decided to stay with Tarzan and Barbara ended with a sweet Happily Ever After.

That story had struck him hard. At first he had grinned like a madman when Barbara finished and winked in his direction. Jane had _stayed_ with Tarzan because she knew he couldn't leave. The jungle had been all the ape-man knew or had, it was his _family_ , and Jane decided to join it. It was only then, when Barbara was tucking Damian in and kissing the top of Tim's head that the significance hit him. There was no way the story was a coincidence; that story hadn't been a normal story... she had to have told it on purpose, it had to be aimed at _him_.

That thought troubled him enough for Barbara to whisper her concern to him after all the others were finally snoring. Dick had shrugged her question away with his trademark flashy grin and reassured her as they blew out the last lit candle of the night. That had been some time ago, now; Hours later, here he was, still awake, staring into the darkness and contemplating that stupid,  _wonderful_ story.

Dick knew that Barbara was getting more and more anxious to go home; the subject was coming up more often lately, and Dick's only response had been to keep promising to help her. She was starting to get sad at night when they went to sleep, he noticed, and she would wear such a heartbroken look sometimes when she thought he wasn't looking, but Dick always, _always_ noticed. That made it rather hard for him to keep giving her that reassuring smile. He didn't want her to leave; she made everyone so _happy_ , she made _him_ happy. But for her, for some unfathomable reason, it just seemed that the same could not be said. She was Jane and he was Tarzan, but in _this_ story she just...couldn't stay in the jungle, even though she knew how wonderful and meaningful Neverland truly was. Didn't she? She cared the Robins, she'd said so before plenty of times. Maybe she just...didn't like him.

Restless and now upset at the turn his thoughts had taken, Dick carefully lifted himself off the floor and stood to his feet. He needed to walk, to breathe, to _think_. He ruffled a single hand through his dark, tangled hair and trudged quietly through the tree house toward the door. He almost made it too, when he heard a shuffle of limbs and a sleepy groan. Dick froze instantly, but not without his usual grace and turned around. There was Barbara herself blinking sleepily up at him, propped up on her elbow. Despite his sullen mood, he almost smiled at the sight because her hair was tossed about in a wild mess and she looked younger, like a girl _should_ at her age.

"Dick?" she whispered, rubbing her eyes against the moonlight, sitting up completely now. "Dick, what's wrong?" Dick sighed and turned toward her.

"I can't sleep. I'm going outside for a bit," he replied softly, trying to reassure her. She blinked a couple times more before understanding set in and a sweet smile graced her lips.

"Can I come with? You look like you could use somebody to talk to," she offered kindly. Dick's heart swelled and though he probably should have considered it for a moment, he nodded gratefully. She rose wobbly to her feet before steadying and tip-toeing toward him and taking his hand. Together, they stepped quiety through the entrance to the hide out and into the moonlight.

"So... what's bothering you?" She began, sliding her cool fingers in between his own. Dick chewed the inside of his lip momentarily, walking with her for a moment more before drawing to a halt a few yards deeper into the woods and admitting his inner turmoil.

"That story you told earlier...about Tarzan and Jane." He frowned thoughtfully as the words formed, causing her face to morph with confused surprise, "It's just," he continued warily. "I started thinking that Tarzan and the animals were kind of, you know, like me and the Robins. When you mentioned _Jane_ , I knew it just  _had_ to mean something; a civilized girl walks into an untamed land where Tarzan shows her the beauty of wildlife and freedom. Then they... _fall in love_ with each other," he felt the creep of a blush climbing slowly up his cheeks. "Up to that point, I could understand. It's just...Jane  _stayed_. And if you're Jane in this story, does that mean you want to stay, too? Because _I_ want you to stay," he admitted, words rushing out as his eyes darted to hers."More than that, I want you to _want_ to stay with me. Like Jane did," he blurted earnestly, blushing when her eyes welled with a sad, but compassionate expression. "I- I don't know if that makes me a jerk, I really hope not and I'm sorry," he added in a panic, "it's just that... I don't understand why you _can't_   _stay_. Is it because of me? Am I wrong about these feelings I have for you? Is it the island? Something else? I- I can't figure it  _out_." His heart was thundering painfully up in his throat, now, and he could feet himself shaking as Barbara lowered her gaze in consideration for a moment.

"It's... not that I couldn't," Barbara murmured finally, tucking a stray lock behind her ear. Dick arched his brows at her, perking his ears up in hope. "I like Neverland, it's been...a  _dream_. The things you've shown me -mermaids, never-birds, fairies, archers- they're all _incredible_. And I _love_ being with you and the others, they're so wonderful and you all mean the _world_ to me! And _you,_ " she blushed, closing the distance between them and reaching her free hand up to cup Dick's cheek. His very breath caught in his throat as he watched her.

"With _you_ , I feel...something entirely new, something... _special_ ," she admitted. Dick swallowed and inhaled a quick, surprised gulp of air through scarcely parted lips. "So, again, it's not that I _can't_ stay with you. I could _easily_ just forget myself and live like this for the rest of my life in this home away from home," she hummed with a soft, dreamy smile. "But that's just it, though..." her smile, though still present, fell with a melancholy that made Dick's heart ache. "Neverland's... not my real home."

Something contracted in Dick's chest painfully at her words, and he had to pull away from her once again in shock.

"No, please don't-" she gasped, clutching his hand in a desperate plea. "You have to understand, I- I'm starting to _forget_ ," she choked, drawing Dick's attention once more. She had tears welled up in her eyes, and she looked like she was trying very hard to hold back a sob.

"Forget?" he repeated with a frown, cocking his head and stepping closer once again to comfort her. "Forget what?"

"Not what," she sniffled, wiping away a stray tear as it trickled down her pale cheek. "It's w _ho_. I- I can't remember my mother's smile. I can't remember my father's face anymore, I can't even remember my little brother's  _name_. Dick, I  _love_ them," she sobbed, letting herself break down finally, wrapping her arms around herself. Dick's heart ached terribly seeing her like this, and he pulled her closer into an embrace, even letting her rest her head into the crook of his neck. Despite having her openly weeping and crushed against him like this, instead of feeling even the least bit elated, he felt raw and... _guilty_. He hadn't even thought about her family, not since she last mentioned them in the fairies' meadow. Hell, he hadn't thought of his _own_ family, nor anyone else's -Jay's, Tim's Steph's, Dami's- in the whole time he'd been here. When he tried to conjure up an image of what his parents might have looked like, he pictured nothing; _blank_. He wasn't even sure what a parent would  _look_ like; had he ever even had one? He could understand about her brother; Huntress and the archers frequently called him and the Robins brothers and sisters, so that was something. What would it be like if he could no longer see one of them? ...If he forgot their faces? A cold chill swept up his spine and he forced the thought away. No,  _no_ , he wasn't about to ponder that. The children were his  _family_ , each and every one, and if he lost even one of them-

 _No_.

But...

"It's okay, Babs, I understand," Dick whispered, running a gentle hand down her hair and resting it against the small of her back. "That...does just leave one problem, though," he murmured quietly as he comforted her.

"I know... What about _us_." It was not a question. Barbara choked on the words even as she said them, and Dick nodded gravely in affirmation. Barbara groaned and rubbed the tears from her eyes quickly in exasperation.

"Yeah. There's...not a whole lot of other options for us, is there?" Dick smiled bitterly. Barbara bit her lip in thoughtful contemplation and glanced up at him, blue eyes fearful, but just as beautiful as ever.

"Maybe I could come back and visit from time to time?" she brainstormed hopefully. Dick grimaced halfheartedly.

"You'd still grow up," he reasoned sadly, trying hard not to picture her taller and wearing more and more wrinkles every time they met and even starting to sport that gray hair he saw on the pirates from time to time. "Are you even gonna keep visiting me when you're older? Are you sure you wouldn't _forget_ me?" It was his turn to choke back a hard lump in his throat. Oh, _no_ , not _now_. He hadn't cried in so long...

"Silly _boy,_ I could never forget you!" Barbara gasped passionately, lifting up to face him sternly. It brought a smile to his face to see the bright shine of determination return to her. " _Never_." He gazed at her softly now, and in a bold moment even for him, he leaned up to catch her into a chaste kiss. It took her by surprise and she gasped, but quickly closed her eyes and melted into him.

"I wish you'd consider going _with_ me," she hummed, pulling away by a fraction and resting her forehead against his. "I wish we could always have _this_ ," she continued, kissing him again and taking _him_ by surprise, "and so... _so_ much more." Dick gasped, stricken with so emotion that he couldn't breathe. One one hand, she wanted him. She  _wanted_ him, and his heart was leaping for joy. He was so elated, he almost wanted to spring into the air and crow to the sky. It was the other part, however... _leaving_ , that rendered him completely scared and uncomfortable.  He wanted her too, more than _anything_. But...was it worth growing up? Moreover, was it worth never seeing Neverland again? Was the _more_ she mentioned possibly enough to make him even _consider_ it? His stomach squirmed at the implication; to leave would require so much sacrifice, so much uncertainty... but maybe _more_ was a secret adventure just waiting for him. Curiosity was a powerful and alluring thing, and despite the way that fear clawed at him when he pictured a life without Neverland, Barbara knew of something else that existed that Dick had never seen, something special and secret that eluded even his imagination. Maybe she could describe it to him and help him to paint a picture of his own of _more_ , just like she did in her stories.

"What... _more_?" he whispered quietly, gazing at her with genuine curiosity. She blinked at him, surprised at first that he asked, then splitting into a lovely smile as she closed her eyes and tilted her chin dreamily. It was a look he knew well; she often wore this expression when she recounted her fairy tales, drawing her eyebrows together as she recalled the details. Dick often wondered what the pictures looked like in her head, and knew that whatever she was imagining now had to be more lovely than any princess she had described before. At least, if her longing smile was anything to go by.

"There are buildings there made of steel and glass, bigger than even the trees of the mountain," she began, gesturing toward the green expanse of the island, and Dick leaned forward with awe. "Big churches or stone with _massive_ winged gargoyles and angels watching over the city; Gotham's very own silent Robins to protect the city," she winked at him, and Dick grinned, sap that he was. He loved it when she included him, even abstractly in her stories. "The city lights twinkle for miles like a sea of stars, from the bridge over the bay and all the way into the horizon. "There's theaters where sirens sing and dance a show for you, movies that tell stories with moving _pictures_ that can make you laugh or cry, even a circus that comes to town a few times a year with delicious funnel cakes that make your _mouth_ water to think about-" Dick was grinning wildly from ear to ear now. He could picture the massive tents and fire jugglers, and even the menagerie of elephants and lions roaring about; he remembered the circus, and whether or not he stayed in her Gotham, he'd perhaps go just to see it.

"There are boats on the bay that aren't ransacked by pirates," she continued on, and Dick frowned at the concept. "You get to sail them anytime you want, and watch the dawn as the sun rises from the water, or at the end of the day see it sink back into the sea of skyscrapers in a blaze of colors reflecting from the sky like you've never seen before!"

"It sounds beautiful," Dick nodded with intrigue. Barbara smiled and shrugged.

"It has it's moments," she admitted softly, gazing down and playing with a few blades of grass as she continued on. "You should see it in the winter when the snow falls over the city like a white blanket." Dick blinked as the strange image conjured in his mind. "It crunches beneath your feet when you walk, and it's so _cold_ when you touch it. But it's good to pack into a ball and throw at your friends for fun," she giggled, possibly remembering a time when she had done so herself. Dick imagined throwing one of these snowballs at Stephanie or Jason, and couldn't help but snicker when he imagined an all out war. "You can draw shapes and make snow-angels with your body, too," she continued, keeping Dick captivated with imagination, "and roll it all up into huge snowballs and pile them on top of each other. If you drew a face on it and used sticks to make arms," she demonstrated, gesturing stiffly as if her own arms were made of sticks, "that's a snow _man_. You can even dress it up however you want!"

"Like a pirate, with an eye patch and a hat?!" Dick grinned at the thrilling idea. Barbara nodded vehemently with a smile of her own.

"And sashes and buttons, too; anything goes," she affirmed, shifting closer in her excitement. "And the best of all is, when it gets so unbearably cold, you can go inside your warm home with lots of blankets and a mom would made a hot cup of hot chocolate with sweet, puffy marshmallows to drink."

"A _mother_ ," Dick groaned, twisting his face into a grimace. "A mother who would fuss about not wearing wet clothes or taking a _bath_ after dinner," he tutted, unimpressed. Barbara, to his surprised, chuckled softly at him and shook her head.

"A mother who _loves_ you and doesn't want you to get _sick_ ," she retorted back wittily. "A mother who worked _hard_ to cook a delicious dinner and make sure you're well fed before tucking you into bed and kissing your cheek. A mother who tells you _stories_ ," her blue eyes were wide now in earnest, as if waiting for something to click in Dick's very slow brain. And then, despite the self consciousness which that particular look always made him feel, it _did_ click.

" _You_ -" he gasped in shock and amazement. All the jokes Jason and Stephanie had made that he had brushed off came rushing back to him now;  _What is she, our mother?_   _She acts like such a **grown up**._ "You were... _our_ mother?" She tilted her head and shrugged, gazing down to the ground with sudden humility.

"You all needed to be taken care of," she blushed and blurted rather shyly in her defense. "You only ate scraps, your clothes were dirty and all ripped up and-... I just remembered all the things that _my_ mom and dad used to do for _me_ , and I just-" she bit her lip and finally gazed at him imploringly. Dick stared helplessly as his world both turned upside down and yet...weirdly fell into place.

"So...this is what parents do? Not just nag or yell at you?" Dick asked, trying hard to wrap his mind around the enormity of the discovery. Barbara smiled, reaching up to cup his cheek as she shook her head.

"They love you; that's what their job is," she replied simply. Dick's chest swelled with awe, and...maybe even a touch of sadness, although he wasn't sure why. "I'm sure your parents, whoever they were, loved you very, _very_ much. It is pretty easy," she continued and grinned, nuzzling his nose sweetly.Dick's lips twitched involuntarily into a smile.

"Wait," he smirked, pulling back just a fraction to fully take in her face. "You _love_ me?" he arched a humored, but no less excited brow. His heart began to thrum swiftly once again as her cheeks rouged pink.

"I think I do love you, Dick Grayson," she admitted finally.

"Not just like a _mother_ , though, right?" he added in afterthought, eyes widening by a fraction in panic. She scoffed and snorted at him, staring in disbelief.

"No, stupid. I'm not _actually_ -... oh, boy," she laughed, rubbing her forehead in exasperation. "No. Dick, this is so much _more_..." she squared her shoulders and . "I do love you. And...I'm also _in_ love with you, too."

For the second time that night, she made reality spin all around him; this time, however, he chose to leap and fly several feet into the air with the most elated crow he was ever capable of. Barbara laughed with exasperation below him and shook her head fondly at him. He raced back down to her, stumbling in his landing momentarily before crushing her against him gleefully and kissing her with everything he had. She moaned happily and melted against him, circling her arms around his torso.

This time was different from those they had shared before; after a few initial chaste, but breathless kisses, his eyes fluttered closed and they actually slowed down. She didn't break away the way she usually would, however. Instead, after a shy pause, he felt her lips part open and a fire he had never felt before ignited in his belly as she gently bit into his lower lip. He groaned and gripped her tighter, relenting and letting his own lips part open for her. He felt her tongue dance inside and he met her eagerly, relishing the unique taste of her. He threaded his fingers into her red locks and caressed her, holding her close as if to keep her there forever. She lavished against him as he cradled her, and Dick moaned as their tongues intertwined. Experimentally, he even took her lip between his teeth and nipped at it gently like she had done earlier. She keened, to his delight, and pressed their lips back together with burning intent. After a few more timeless moments, Barbara pulled away gently, leaving Dick in a breathless daze to gaze after her in awe.

"I didn't know you could _kiss_ like that," he whispered, starstruck as she giggled in a flush. "Is...there more of _that_ in your city?" Her eyes shined as a funny expression crossed her face.

"Yeah," she murmured slowly. "There's...definitely more to it. If you, er, wanted to learn one day. As we...grew up," she whispered carefully, more blush than person at this point. Dick blinked at her, biting his lip where her taste still lingered. _'Kissing is for **grown ups**_ ,' he recalled as Stephanie's voice rang in his head. He could almost see the leers and snickers he'd get from the others now, but yet- Barbara was brushing her fingers against her own lips now, as if she could still feel him, too. Dick's heart quickened again, and he shoved the younger voices away briskly. If kissing was for grown ups, anything  _more_ certainly  _had_ to be too. But Dick was burning for her; she'd spent so much time showing him and his little brothers and sister what love truly was, and now he _understood_. And then there was this physical  _ache_ to be with her when she kissed him like that, too. There was so much that had happened to him, so much _more_ than he ever knew existed; this was the greatest adventure he'd ever discovered in his _life_. He was terrified, he realized, because yes, he'd be giving up everything he knew to chase this. But as he took Barbara's hand in his and laced their fingers together, he offered her his signature winning smile. Fear had never stopped him before.

"I'll go with you, Barbara," he stated simply. Her jaw dropped open, sea blue eyes wide with shock and for the first time since he'd known her, rendered completely and utterly speechless.

"Oh, _Dick_ -" she choked, overwhelmed as tears of happiness welled up in her eyes. He reached up to wipe one away as it spilled over and his heart felt like it expanded widely in his chest. He loved this woman. He _loved_ her, and he wanted her to know just how much he wanted to make her happy. He drew her close in his arms and kissed her sweetly on her cheek as if to cherish her.

"Barbara," he whispered softly, closing his eyes against the feel of her skin against his forehead. "I want to tell you, I-" but Dick was interrupted by a vicious scream from a few yards away, making him jump out of his skin.

" _Traitor!"_

Dick and Barbara whipped around in a panic to see none other than Jason glaring at them, seething with a look of hatred beyond anything Dick had witnessed from the second oldest Robin.

"Oh, _no_ ," Dick whispered as a foreboding _chill_ rooted in his spine and froze him in place. Forget the so-called fear he had felt a moment ago making his decision; this was so, _so_ much worse.


	8. Swashbucklers and Scallawags

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here come the pirates! Jason, Dick and Barbara get into a nasty argument until the two boys come to blows. Barbara runs to get the others for help, and all drama boils to a head as the Robins confront each other. But all the ruckus drew some unwelcome visitors, and the sea dogs themselves ambush the unwitting children.

"You dirty, rotten _traitor_ ," Jason snarled again when he had Dick's attention. Both his and Barbara's keen eyes were wide with alarm, and Dick was more or less frozen in space and time as he stared back in dread. Jason was seething; he could feel the anger burning, rolling off him in waves. He felt it so intensely, he could practically _taste_ it _;_ it stung, and was like bitter like rust. If it had a color, Jason decided, it would be _red_.

"Jason," Dick gasped softly, his own name escaping under the bastard's breath. Jason shook his head violently, clamping his hands over his ears and showing Dick just how much he did _not_ want to hear his bullshit right now. Dick's face fell into a hurt, pleading expression and Jason snapped back at him viciously.

" _No!_ You don't get to look like that; like you're _sorry_ , because you're _not_ ," he spouted venemously, to which Dick blanched with shock across their little clearing.

"I- I _am_ ," Dick's jaw hung slightly agape as he scrambled wildly to explain himself. Jason snorted cruelly and shook his head. "I want you to _understand_ , I-...I _love_ her," he gestured toward Barbara, who was red faced and visibly upset despite being partially hidden behind Dick's protective back.

"I thought you loved _us_ ," Jason retorted, jerking his thumb down into his own chest and waving with his other hand back towards the tree house. "I thought you were a  _Robin_!"  An exasperated choking noise escaped Dick's throat, and his face was torn with guilt.

"Jason, I am, I  _do_. You guys are my best _friends!_  But...but _Barbara_..." he trailed off, turning to catch the red head's eyes, softening for a fraction of a second before turning back to Jason. "You just-...you wouldn't  _understand_ -"

"Like _Hell_ , I dont. You always think you're so _special_ , Grayson; so _unique_. You don't even _care_ what the rest of us feel," Jason spat, taking a step forward in hopes of intimidation. Barbara squeaked lightly and Dick, who had been pleading and trying for peace seconds ago, now frowned down at Jason sharply.

"You _know_ that's not true," Dick countered, obviously hurt, but drawing himself up to his full height and lurching forward a half-step to contest Jason's challenge. "How could you even  _say_ that? I  _love_ the Robins! I was the first one, I  _created_ them!" Dick howled back, pressing a fist over his chest near his heart, voice quickly becoming tinged with anger.

"Dick, he's just trying to hurt you," Barbara whispered wistfully into Dick's ear, and Jason could see her slim fingers caress his shoulder in comfort. He rolled his eyes at her antics.

"Yeah, yeah, golden boy," Jason mocked as a sneer pulled at his lips, ignoring Barbara's outburst. "We all know how much you prided yourself on being our holy  _leader_. You're full of  _shit_ ," Jason spat, watching as Dick recoiled in disgust. "After this? Hell, in  _my_ opinion you don't even have the right to call yourself a _Robin_ anymore, you dirty  _traitor._ " The look of shock and devastation that painted across Dick's face was hard to look at, even for Jason, despite his anger.

"Jason, stop it!" This time it was Barbara cutting in, ginger brows stitched together in a stern scowl. Jason's lip curled angrily into a hiss. "Look, you can be angry all you want, I can't blame you, I  _know_ you're hurt. That doesn't give you the right to hurt Dick," she accused, pointing her finger at him as she stepped out from behind the older boy's back. Dick winced, reaching out for her instinctively at first, before catching himself and letting her pass. Jason snorted at him, unimpressed.

"If you'd just hear us _out_ -" she began earnestly, raising her arms as if attempting negotiation before Jason immediately cut her off.

"You know what? You're right,  _Mother_ ," he sneered at her, making her flinch back as he continued. "I can't really blame this on him; I should be blaming this on  _you_." Her jaw dropped in pained surprise, and Jason drew forward menacingly. He enjoyed watching her shrink back.

"It's  _your_ fault that Dick changed.  _You're_  the one that's been messing with his head, and telling him these ridiculous fairy tales and filling his head with lies about growing up!"

"Jason-" Dick interrupted with a warning glower.

  
They're...they're not  _lies_ ," Barbara defended herself, clenching her jaw between pauses to keep it from quivering. "I wouldn't-"

"From the moment you got here, you've been nothing but trouble. A  _nag_ ," Jason sneered down at her, placing his hands dauntingly on his hips. "Dick was doomed from the start, he's always been your _sucker_. You've weaseled your way into the group, charmed Damian and Tim, and maybe even Stephanie _,_ but not _Me_. I can see through you, Barbara; you think you're so clever and  _grown up_. You pretended to like Neverland, and be friendly, but you  _hate_ it here. You hate the island, you hate all of us, you're just trying to seduce Dick so he'll go home with you all for yourself where you can stick your little  _claws_ into him! You're selfish and evil! You might as well be a dirty, sneaky  _pirate_!" 

Barbara gasped, and much to Jason's nasty delight, her eyes began to well up before him.  _Good_.

"You  _asshole_ ," Dick snarled, drawing Jason's attention just before a lightning fast fist planted against his cheek with a loud  _smack_. Jason hadn't been prepared for it, so he stumbled back and plummeted to the ground with a loud thud and a painful grunt. Dick was on top of him in a second, pinning him and wailing on him violently before Jason could stop it. Dick managed three good shots before Jason reacted and threw his arms up to defend himself, catching the elder by the wrists and jerking him off to the side in a rage and throwing his own, full weight onto the boy. This time, Jason was the one to land a few solid punches, making Dick cry out in rage and pain.

He could hear Barbara screaming and begging them to stop, but it fell on deaf ears. Dick had wrapped his legs around Jason's torso in an attempt to twist him down to the ground and pin him, but Jason elbowed his shoulder savagely in return and twisted Dick's arm back painfully in an attempt to break it.

Dick shrieked before using his free hand to snatch a bit of loose dirt and threw it swiftly into Jason's eyes. Jason screeched at the momentary blindness, and Dick used the opportunity to wrench his arm loose and scramble away. Just as Jason was wiping the dirt from his eyes, he felt a shoulder slam into his stomach, forcing the air up and out of his lungs in a shocked cough. He kept upright this time, but Dick was on him again, and Jason found himself shoving back at the man wildly and throwing blind punches as he struggled to blink away the last of the burning dirt.

"What the hell are you two  _doing_?" he recognized Stephanie's outraged voice. He turned his head towards the direction of her cry, but not before Dick seized the moment of hesitation to land a painful punch against his jaw. Jason's head whipped with the force of it, and he groaned in pain before returning the favor directly to Dick's ribs.

"Guys, guys,  _stop_!" It was Tim, and Jason could hear multiple footsteps thudding quickly towards them while he and Dick struggled vehemently against each other. In less than a second, he felt two pairs of hands fiercely pulling him away from the fight. He strained angrily against them, but the grips held firm as someone else dragged Dick away from him.

Jason managed to squint his eyes open despite the dirt still irritating them, and saw that Damian and Barbara were restraining Dick across from him. Stephanie's arms were tangled urgently around his own torso while Tim pushed against his chest and ribs, blocking him from moving forward.

"Let me go! I'm gonna kill him!" Jason snarled, wrenching in their grips as he sent a nasty glare towards Dick. Dick glowered back at him in kind, though he had already stopped struggling against his own intervention.

"What the hell is _wrong_ with you two?" Damian cut in urgently, his small frame whipping around and glaring back and forth between them now that Dick had stilled.

"Why don't you ask  _him_?" Jason barked gruffly, jerking his chin towards Dick. "He's the one who  _started_ it."

"You _insulted Barbara_ , you fucking prick! You made her cry!" Dick fired back, clenching his arm back as if to throw another punch. Damian stiffened and planted himself firmly between them.

" _What_?" Stephanie and Tim gasped in horrified unison. Jason scoffed as Tim glanced up at him slack-jawed and wide eyed in disbelief.

"Don't act all chivalrous and  _noble_ ," Jason snapped nastily, and Stephanie's arms tightened painfully around his waist as he tried to lunge forward. "He's a  _traitor_ , they  _both_ are!" Jason raged, turning his head to stare at both Tim and Damian's skeptical faces in front of him. He couldn't see Steph's expression, but he imagined it was just as alarmed and uncertain as the others. Dick and Barbara both had the gall to exchange anxious glances, and Jason wanted to scream at them.

"They're planning on leaving Neverland!" Jason glowered intently, clenching his fists as Barbara winced as the other three blanched in a collective, horrified gasp. " _Both_ of them. Isn't that right, Dick?" he challenged, and all the remaining Robins turned to face their leader.

Dick shrunk back and visibly struggled to swallow under their scrutiny. Barbara pressed her hand against his arm in a gentle attempt at comfort.

"Dick, tell me that isn't true," Stephanie whispered in a blatant plea.

"You  _can't_ leave," Damian added in empty helplessness.

"It's not- Let me explain," Dick croaked out, every ounce of fight in his muscles melting heavily into exhaustion. Jason clenched his jaw as he heard Stephanie choke beside his ear, and Tim released his wrist in favor of covering his own mouth, shaking his head in denial.

Damian jerked sharply away from Dick as the eldest reached out for him, and Dick's expression morphed into pain and apparent grief. After that rejection, he turned toward Barbara  instead and tenderly grabbed her hand, lacing their fingers together slowly in an obvious display. Jason heard Tim draw a sharp breath of sudden understanding, though from the sadness in the boy's eyes, Jason guessed that Tim perhaps sympathized with their affection. The retrospective thought made Jason slightly grimace.

"I've...grown to care for Barbara," Dick admitted slowly, wrapping his free arm around the girl's back and drawing her close for courage. He still couldn't bear to look them in the eyes. "In a way that I've never known before. It's hard to explain, and I'm sorry if it's hard to understand," earnest blue eyes finally shone up at them through a grim, guilty expression. 

"I care about all of you more than I could ever-" he cut off in a choke. "More than I care about myself. But the way I feel for Barbara, I've never felt anything like it before. She's my world," he gazed at the red head fondly, and she managed a sad, affectionate smile in return. 

"I want to go wherever she goes," Dick continued after a beat, turning back and squaring his shoulders as the children sulked and drew away. Stephanie had released Jason, now, and Damian had retreated completely into their fold as Dick spoke.

"Then make her stay  _here_ ," the youngest blurted bluntly in poorly disguised distress. Barbara was welling up in tears again at Damian's words, and she reached up to wipe them away discreetly.

"Yeah," Stephanie chimed in pointedly. "We like having her here well enough, and if you can't live without her then make her  _stay_!" Barbara's shoulders were shaking now in silent sobs, and Dick's mouth parted quietly in concern. He drew her in comfortingly, and hesitated, searching for something, anything to say to the expectant Robins.

It was Tim who broke the fragile silence.

"I think..." his voice was pitched an octave higher than usual. He cleared his throat and swallowed, resolving himself before continuing. "I think that's unfair to Barbara."

Jason, Stephanie and Damian all turned to him in varied expressions of shock and betrayal. Dick's jaw dropped completely, and Barbara peered up from Dick's shoulder with wide, red-rimmed eyes. Tim chewed his lip nervously as all attention zeroed in on him intently.

"W-what I mean is-" he stuttered, "-we've known Barbara has missed her home for a while. We knew she'd leave eventually," he reasoned, throwing his hands up in a white flag gesture. "Dick loves her, too. Is it so wrong for him to want to go with her?"

"Yes!" Stephanie bickered immediately. "What about  _us_? He loved  _us_ first!"

"I...don't want him to go," Damian admitted reluctantly, tilting his chin down and glaring at the ground as the words left his mouth. "He's... _always_ been here. With us."

"Yes...but-" Tim struggled, fidgeting his fingers before Dick stepped in and clasped a grateful hand on his shoulder.

"I will  _always_ love you guys," Dick cut in seriously, taking a knee especially to level with Damian. " _Always_. I never wanted to leave you behind, and I still don't. I want you to come  _with_ me."

A new wave of surprise crashed over the Robins; even _Jason_ sucked in a breath of utter shock.

"You think...we want to come  _with_ you? To... _grow up_?" Jason voiced in pure disbelief down at Dick's earnest face.

"But...we promised  _never_ to grow up," Stephanie interjected, shaking her head and backing away in devastation. "We swore to  _Neverland_!"

"I know," Dick acknowledged quickly, standing back to his feet to address her anxiously. "I know. But Barbara's world... it's far away from Neverland. It's a whole new place for excitement and adventures, things we could never _imagine_ ," Dick reasoned with them, glancing intently at each lost child in turn. "And so what if we grow up? Barbara says that there's so much  _more_ out there that we can only understand if we do," Dick insisted, pleading with that same shining eagerness in his eyes that was only painfully familiar to the Robins.

"The way she makes me feel," Dick glanced back at the ginger in question, and Barbara flushed as Dick smiled at her. "I think... I think that's part of it. It's the most exciting thing I've ever felt, and I think it's worth the risk." Jason and Tim flashed alarmed, conflicted glances toward each other as private, similarly affectionate memories flashed before their eyes.

" _Uck_ ," Stephanie made a face, pulling away again and turning her back. "You've already started to talk like an adult. I  _knew_ kissing made you grow up! You were too old when you made your promise, and you've kissed too much! It's already too late, we've _lost_ you," Stephanie choked accusingly, tearing up herself. Jason deadpanned and froze before Tim's eyes, and the third Robin felt his heart start to hammer in panic of his own as Dick gasped beside him.

"Stephanie, you're  _wrong_ ," Tim squeaked vehemently, staring at Jason's stony face with anxiety. No,  _no_ , she might have just gotten to Jason in the worst possible way. Stephanie deadpanned and met his eyes; she  _knew_ how he felt about Jason, he  _trusted_ her.  _Please don't do this_ , he begged her silently. She swallowed and her expression darkened.

"I'm not wrong," her voice was ghostly as she replied. "When I kissed Cassandra in the lagoon a few weeks ago...I wanted to grow up," she admitted with a hiss of reluctance. "And everyone knows about you and  _Jason_ -" Tim froze in terror, and Jason stiffened. Dick blinked in surprise, but everyone else -Damian and Barbara, rather- bit their lips uncomfortably and glanced to the side.

"You damned _hypocrite_ ," Dick sniped at Jason, making the second Robin snarl before Steph cut them off.

"When you kiss Jason, it makes you... _feel_ things, right?" she glared, making Tim shrink down. Jason grit his teeth and glared down at the ground.

" _Don't you_?!" she demanded at Jason, now, who winced.

"Yes," he whispered, and Tim felt nauseous as desperate tears pricked in his own eyes.

"You  _all_ have done this?" Damian frowned suspiciously, looking between each blushing individual with accusing eyes. No one felt inclined to answer aloud, which was confirmation enough to the 10 year old.

"If this...kissing is so bloody enjoyable to you all, then why shouldn't it be explored?" Every jaw dropped at the youngest's outburst of reasoning. Especially Barbara, however, who held her hand above her heart and above all else seemed touched and impressed.

" _Because_ ," Stephanie spluttered, scrambling for some kind of rhyme or reason to respond.

"Because..." Jason frowned, his face grim under the starlight. "I don't... want to die." And there it was; the final problem with growing up that no one had dared mention. To grow up meant to _die_ ; to never know joy, or companionship...laughter, or the thrill of adventure ever again. Jason didn't want to die,  _ever_ , and he didn't want any of the Robins to die, either. Even Dick and his moronic ass. All eyes, blue, brown or otherwise, were cast to the ground in a thick, pregnant silence.

" _Well_ ," a gritty chuckle interrupted them, making each Robin alike, youngest to eldest, jump out of their skin. Out of the trees, a swarming circle of about two dozen pirates surrounded them on all sides. The one who spoke was none other than Captain al Ghul himself. "Then it's a very unlucky day for you, little birdies."

"Shit,  _scatter!_ " Dick cursed loudly, each Robin leaping up immediately toward the sky. Unfortunately, however, one of the greasy pirates latched his abnormally pale paws around Barbara and held a wicked looking knife threateningly against her slim throat.

"Now, now, lovely, be still. Or I'll make your neck shine red and pretty just like your _hair_ ," it was the slick voice of the Jack the Jester -though the children had privately nicknamed him Joker- slithering into her ear. She squealed as he jerked her back, allowing one of the other pirates, who was also his own personal clownish lackey Harley Quinn, to rope her wrists painfully behind her back with a cackle.

"Barbara!" Dick cried in outrage, immediately reaching for his dagger as he strayed high in the air. His stomach dropped, however, and he gasped aloud as his fingers grazed over nothing but wind. He'd left it back inside the _treehouse,_ he realized. No, no,  _no_!

Bane, a rather large, beefy pirate with a black face mask hiding his features, had snatched Damian by the ankle in the meantime. The runt of the Robins was screaming in outrage and beating his small fists against the larger man to no avail as Bane pinned him down and bound his hands and feet. Poor Tim had tried to help, but the sneaky, green clad Riddler had clocked him hard in the back of his head, rendering the boy quickly unconscious.

"Dick,  _move_!" Jason shouted about ten feet above him before a slap of a rope clung around his right ankle. In a panic, Dick glanced down to see Catwoman's craning her whip tightly in hand as she attempted to pull him down. Dick jerked his leg, but was met with fierce resistance, and then the sting of another rope slapping and tightening around his left knee.

"No,  _stop_!" He cried out as Ivy sneered up at him from the other side. "Wait-" he choked off as another rope was slung tightly around his throat. He clawed at it desperately, unable to fight his descent as the lady pirates dragged him down to the ground. He gurgled for help and darted his eyes around for Stephanie or Jason, only to find that Stephanie was caught flailing inside a thick net dragging her down a few feet away.

Jason watched helplessly from the air as each and every one of his friends was taken prisoner one by one, wincing at their screams of outrage and fear. The pirates were cackling up at him with their prizes. Some of them were even taking aim at him with their pistols and firing with loud hoots of victory. Jason sneered down viciously as he dodged, hands twitching toward the empty space where his dagger usually slung at his side. If he could just get back to the treehouse- but the pirates were so  _close_ , he'd expose the hideout and the damn fiends would burn it down!

" _Fuck_ ," Jason whined, glancing between each cry and thrash of his comrades. And  _Tim_ \- he was bleeding, Jason noticed, and a heavy weight clunked inside his chest as his small body was flung over the shoulder of some meathead in a bandana.

"Now, now, Jason," Captain al Ghul crooned silkily directly below him. Jason curled his hands into fists and growled.

"Let them  _go_!" his voice rang out in outrage, reverberating eerily through the forest.

"Or  _what_ , kiddie?" the Joker laughed up, justling the hold he had tangled in Barbara's hair. She whimpered and cried out softly, but Jason still heard her. Jason was about to give a murderous retort before the Captain graciously intervened, brushing dirt acutely off of his green, velvet coat.

"Let me make a counter offer," he called up in amusement as Jason clenched his teeth. "You surrender yourself now, or we shoot the rest of the little birdies one by one until you do. Starting with  _that_ one," his tone dipped with distaste as Stephanie screeched from her net. Two Face, as it turned out, was only too happy to oblige and offered a disgusting grin from his scarred, warped face as he drew his own pistol.

"Don't do it, Jason! Get out of here and regroup later!" Dick yelled out desperately before an unforgiving fist slammed into his face, making him groan in pain as Ivy hissed and demanded his silence. Jason bit his lip and shifted unwillingly; he knew it was the smart thing to do, he could hide away until the pirates gave up search and then sneak back on board with all their weapons to help them escape, like usual. But...they had a gun pointed right at  _Steph_.

"Still hesitant, boy?" al Ghul tutted with condescension. "What a shame. How about  _this_ one then?" the Captain drew his own pistol and pressed the barrel against the temple of a still unconscious Tim. Jason's heart chilled in his chest, and he choked.

" _No_ ," he gasped, pleading as his body went lax. "Please-"

"Surrender yourself, then, boy," the Captain warned, cocking his gun with a deadly promise.

" _Idiot_ ," Damian strangled out underneath Bane's heavy foot as Jason slumped his shoulders and slowly floated down. The moment his soles touched the earth, he was grabbed by the scruff of his neck and shackled ruthlessly; the pirates were none too gentle and spared as many thrashes as possible with the butts of their guns or the brunt of their fists.

"At last, little birds," Captain al Ghul sneered triumphantly down at the six of them in turn. Jason sneered up at him in disgust, Damian glared haughtily, despite his position literally under foot, and Stephanie even managed to stick her tongue out.

"You're  _mine_." No matter what spite, each of them felt, each Robin shrunk back in devastation and disgust as the brutes howled with glee all around them.

" _To the ship!_ "

 


End file.
